Limited or Limitless?

“The soul becomes dyed by the color of its thoughts.”

— Marcus Aurelius

Often the one thing that prevents you from getting what you want is your mind. 

If you believe there is only one way to do things, you are limiting yourself. If you look at everything in terms of loss and failure, you limit yourself. And we all do these things day after day, without even realizing it.

All of us are born with infinite potential.

Some believe that potential diminishes as we age. I disagree. As we grow up, our potential remains limitless, but we start to believe we are restricted. Limitations have been imposed on us  — by friends, family, the education system, society, ourselves.

 
The environment I grew up in trained me to have low expectations for my future.

Your mind is powerful and without boundaries. So don’t restrict it with thoughts that limit possibility!⁣ Create the idea of what’s “possible” for yourself instead of living by other people’s limitations.

When I finally began to see possibilities for myself, the whole world opened up.

I love speaking with new people who are learning how to dream again. As children we dream all the time, but somehow our environment, experiences, and culture suck the impulse to dream away from us. We need to learn how to let go of the limiting thoughts and beliefs that have made their way into our lives. When we are dealing with turbulence or difficulties, it is especially important to shake off negativity and thoughts that hinder us. The last thing any of us need during a rough patch is limiting beliefs taking even more possibilities away from us. 

In my business, Ortega Counseling Center, we work with injured workers to find new careers. We guide our clients to look beyond their current circumstances and to see options they were unable to see before…a better future. We have our own unique process of engaging our clients to see possibilities and find the path that is right for them.

Step 1: First, we encourage them to move forward and get out of their “sob story.” Many clients call us with all of the things that are working against them: injuries, lack of education, no experience. We help them change their focus to what they can do.

Step 2: Next, we work on a vision for the client’s future. What does their life look like after they have trained for a new career and are working at a job they love? The images they hold in their mind are showing them their future.

Step 3: The last step is making a plan. We create an actionable roadmap that has steps for the client to take, one by one. It’s time to JUST DO IT. We follow up and check in to keep them motivated and on track. 

This process has been very successful and rewarding, but none of it works without the first step. Limiting beliefs will dash any progress. Reality conforms to our mental expectations. Let go of the idea that you “can’t” do something. You can quite literally do anything that you can imagine. It’s nature’s law.

Your mind is your worst enemy, or your best ally. It’s up to you.