It’s no secret that seeing a limitation in life is sometimes easier than seeing what’s possible. When old mental patterns team up with ego and fear, the power of what you want can seem too far away and impossible to reach.
However, limitations like a health challenge, lost opportunity, broken relationship or difficulty in reaching a certain level of achievement are all common human experiences. The personal stories created as part of the journey to overcome what’s initially perceived as a limitation are inspiring. When they are shared, the same stories serve to connect, heal and empower us in equal measure.
Not everyone gets held back by limitations in the same way or creates an opportunity from it in quite the same way. This is why it’s so powerful to see others step outside a challenge and accomplish the unexpected.
People who rise above their circumstances to create something fresh, new and innovative all have one powerful skill. They are able to flip the script on what they view as a limitation and turn it into a springboard for healing, personal growth and success in the long-run.
When you can take a situation and create a new perspective or path, it turns a challenge into a really great success story. It also helps you connect to, inspire and guide the hearts of others along their own journey.
The 5 Simple Ways to Reveal the Gift Behind a Limitation
Here are five ways to take what you view as a limitation, and turn it around to discover how it empowers you to think and create differently. This is the first step to clearly seeing and accepting a limitation; to see and understand it’s hidden gift and side-step feeling like a victim.
Dig deep and ask powerful questions.
Ground, tune in and ask yourself:
- What am I learning from this challenge?
- What mental and emotional patterns are emerging, and how can I better tap into what I feel to reveal my truth?
- How can I open my heart and surrender to “what is”, without trying to control the how?
Journal about the answers to explore what’s really going on at the root of things, deep down. Stick with the self-inquiry process for a few weeks as you continue to hit against mental blocks to give what’s deep inside you a clear, distinct voice. This process will help you work through the energy of a challenge to see it without judgement, blame or emotion, and embrace the gift it has to offer.
Listen to your mental chatter actively for a few days. Then, take any negative or limiting thoughts you have frequently and rewrite them as a positive statements. Repeat the new wording to yourself as a mental mantra, or write it down and read it to yourself in the morning and evening. The more you practice, the easier it is to overwrite limited thinking and build positive momentum.
Notice your physical and emotional state when things don’t go your way, and what you do next. Is there a tight sensation in the chest? Stiff neck? Angry feeling in your stomach? Tears welling up? Once you have a good idea of the physical and emotional reactions, take note of what you are inspired to do next. Are you going gangbusters trying to push forward through the emotions and physical discomfort without feeling it? Or are you willing to hit the pause button and open up to what you are feeling in order to understand and release it, then add in extra self-care?
Get grounded, tune in and ask yourself if a limitation you are encountering is a fact or a flare up of your “shadow side”. We all have aspects of ourselves that we are not proud of or don’t like. When limitations arise, the shadow self can come on pretty strong to try and manipulate the situation to protect the ego and “keep us safe.” It’s important to be able to tell the difference between an external limitation and an internal one so you can find the healthiest way to manage it.
Be honest and patient. As one of the hardest aspects to practice, patience really is essential to flipping the script on limited thinking. It helps to explore some key ideas, including:
- What impact will this challenge create right now?
- In what ways will it influence my health, relationships, job opportunities etc.?
- Is there information I need to know or get clear about before pushing forward?
- What coping mechanisms pop up for me when I feel challenged? Do I want to continue using them?
Sit with how you feel and be open to what comes up. The insight you receive builds an honest, clear platform you can use to make more informed choices around a limitation or challenge, and influences the path forward.
What you may discover through these five steps helps you tap deeper into your core needs and true desires. By calling on inner wisdom, practicing patience and being open to new insight, a limitation can actually help you get really clear. It also inspires you to move forward in a whole new way with greater creative confidence.
Are there certain ways you get caught up on what limits you? How do you move past it?
If you are ready to move through to a deeper level of self understanding, connect with me for an intuitive reading. Want a little more reading on a similar topic? Check out Are you Creating Boundaries or Self-Imposed Limitations? Like to get your wisdom in audio form? Check out my podcast, Flirting With Enlightenment.