The two dangers that are inimical to becoming the best a man can be are doubts and self-limiting beliefs. To doubt oneself is to have no confidence whatsoever in oneself. To some extent, one’s doubt about certain things could even change over time, but self-limiting belief is a killer of potential.
Nothing kills an individual’s capacity faster to achieve greatness in life than a self-limiting belief. Limiting beliefs are nothing but thoughts or ideas flashing through our sub-conscious mind, telling/whispering to us how we may never be the best we ought to be, or achieve our dreams and purpose in life. There are a number of things we would have achieved in life had it been we have not placed limitations on our self. Most times, we focus our attention on the things we don’t have rather than the things we have.
We pay attention to the limitations that our environment, what people have said, academic qualifications and family backgrounds have placed on us and have accepted that because of those limitations, we may never go far in life. It even becomes more difficult when you are born and raised in Africa. Certain cultures within this setting as well have placed certain limits on the way we reason and think. There are certain things our cultures have introduced to us as taboos while growing up and which we have held to be true. But the truth is, beliefs are simply a set of assumptions we have come to embrace or accepted as true which can be unaccepted as well.
Everyone has some self-limiting beliefs inherent in them, whether they are visible or invisible to those who carry them. Some of these beliefs could be subtle – appearing to be harmless to the person who carries them. Some are aware of them and are therefore working tirelessly on breaking free from them. There are also certain people who believe because they cannot change these beliefs (as it keeps occurring anytime they try) and chose to live with them permanently. But just because you ignore them, doesn’t mean that they will go away or that you can live up to your full potential.
What I am trying to say is this: you have no excuse whatsoever to remain stagnant in your life over some unfounded beliefs. The capacity to become anything you want to be in life is inherent in you. Below are examples of self-limiting beliefs that we must break free from:
- I’m not good enough
- I do not know Anybody
- My qualifications are not good enough
- My parents were poor
- It is too late for me
- I am not worthy
- I don’t have the right connections
- I am too old
- I am not smart
- I do not have the require experience
- I do not have money
- My dreams may never come through
- I am too short/tall
- I am too fat/slim
- I can’t do it
- Life is not easy
- I may never be able to make more money than this
- People don’t love/like me
- I don’t know what people are thinking about me
- If only I was born in a different clime or country etc.
All the above named self-limiting beliefs and many more are what has kept people in their cocoons and have hindered them from making progress in life and destiny. The good news is that all these mentioned above are not facts – they are only beliefs. I for one used to believe that I cannot write a book, but now I have come to realize that I can even write not just a book, but several books in my lifetime.
