We all do it—stand in the way of something or someone trying to get by us. We dawdle on the sidewalk. We drive slowly in the passing lane. We stand in front of a store display, browsing while a fellow shopper waits patiently or struggles to reach around us. And these are how we get in the way of others. What about the most notorious of them all: when we get in our own way?
We’ve set a goal or express a desire to pursue our passion. But we’re not quite nailing it. We’re not going that extra mile despite how much we profess to want IT. In other words, we are standing smack in the middle of our way of reaching our goal! Emotionally. Psychologically. Physically. And we’re good at it. We find all kinds of justifications to not shine:
- “I can’t look like I’m bragging.”
- “What will others think of me?”
- “I can’t permit myself to…(fill in the blank)”
And so on, as we tell ourselves a story based on an old, outdated narrative. Or one that someone else told us, and that became our internalized self-limiting belief, a belief that does not serve us. Because of it, we fail to own our stuff. And we stay stuck in the discomfort of our comfort zone.
So how do we get out of our way?
We move over. We yield. We get out of our passing lane, or else we stay in it and speed up! On a practical level, we look at how standing in our way is helping us to move forward and achieve our goal (It’s not). And we visualize the outcome we want. Rather than look at the whole thing that seems ominous and overwhelmingly huge, we begin with one small step.
We compose that first line of the book we want to write. We put the first brush stroke on the canvas to paint. We declutter and reorganize one shelf. We reach out to that person with whom we need to speak. Whatever that starting point is, we start small. We do ONE manageable thing. Today. Right now.
And slowly, we find ourselves changing our narrative. Before we know it, our story has an ending, which is merely a beginning.
What is next? And what is after that? And then what? Imagine the possibilities when we move over to surpass ourselves.
Is there an area in your life where you are standing in your way? What would it look like if you move over or speed up?
Beep! Beep!
Photo by Cheryl Wee from Pexels