I was talking with my coach the other day and we got to discussing perceptions of what is possible. It’s long been a passion of mine to discover what makes people succeed. “What is success?” I hear you ask… well, that’s a topic for another discussion. For now let’s leave it as success is whatever it is for the individual concerned.
How successful we are is often governed by how far we are prepared to go to achieve it. I am not saying here that absolutely anything goes, let’s keep it legal, moral and good for our fellow human beings. What I am saying though, is that how far we push ourselves will often determine how successful we are in our chosen endeavour. What is the limit to how far we can push ourselves? How do we find out where the limit is? What happens if we go beyond the limit?
I have long been a motosports fan. Nowadays motorsport is safer than it’s ever been (there is still danger, but it is masively reduced from days gone by) and so going beyond the limit tends not to have life alterning consequences, indeed usually the most that happens is that the driver is out of the race. Those that win (i.e. are successful by motor racing standards) are those that push until they find the limit, the limit of grip of the car’s tyres, the braking point beyond which the car will not slow enough to make the turn, and then stay at that limit (or very close to it) for as long as they can.
When we look at our every day targets, goals, and aspirations can we say that we push to find our own limits? How often do we reach our limits? For many of us, we find ourselves hesitating in the face of what we perceive to be our limits. Are these really our limits? How do we know? What will happen if we strive towards these limits?
Whenever, I am faced with a challenge I try to dig deeper to understand more about why I am perceiving it as a challenge. When I do this more often than not I discover that the challenge is not real, the limit is not real, it is something that I am making up. Once I do this I find that taking the necessary next steps becomes so much easier.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t always catch myself putting up barriers to success but I am getting better at idenfying when I do, challenging the thinking that is behind this feeling, watching the perceived limit disappear and freeing up my thinking to move forward.
If you’d like to explore how working with me can help you to move past any barriers or limits you may be facing then get in touch for a chat.
Patrick Hickman 