This is a new quote to me, but what a great thought. If you never push yourself, you may never see what is holding you back. Not exactly sure what the percentage is, but I would wager the situations in which you, and your thoughts, are your strongest chains is above 90%. There are many times that I am looking to do something I have never done before and the reasons are often clouded over in my mind. This is why it is so important to surround yourself with people who will help improve your life, as we noted last post.

In my life, there have been many examples of chains that I have let hold me back. We all have them. What often surprises me is how often these chains exist in my own mind and manifest themselves as something else. I consider myself a fairly introspective individual, but we all tell ourselves little white lies to stay in our comfort zones. This is what our brains are hard-wired to do. Your mind does not want you to risk doing something that would be uncomfortable, even if it would further your life. We may believe the obstacle is outside of us, when it is really our beliefs that are keeping us from moving forward.

Let me give you 2 quick examples in my own life. I was preparing to do my first ever book signing. I was nervous as it was my first book, not to mention first book signing. It was in the sunny village of Greendale. I was going to put up flyers in some of the shops to promote it. I figured there were 2 or 3 businesses that would let me do that. With me I had this attractive lady I just started dating. She informed me that we were not going to the shops that I was sure would let me put up the signs, but we were going to ask in all of them. Informing her that is not how this small village worked, she informed me that I was just being too nervous to do so. She even promised to go in and ask for me to prove that more places would hang up one of my signs than I expected. Little did I know at the time this would consist of her getting the attention of an employee, shoving me forward and exclaiming, “This man has something to ask you.” As it turned out, all but 2 of the businesses, whom I should note are no longer in business, agreed to put one of my flyers in their windows. Proving it was my fear and not the businesses that prevented the promotion.

Another example is when I was going to start my podcast (Living the Dream with Neil Panosian) which you can find on all of your streaming platforms. Every time that I had coffee with my good friend Nick, I would tell him how I was going to start this podcast. He informed me that I had been telling him this for six months. I explained how I did not have the equipment, know exactly how to go about starting one or promote one. He countered that one is able to learn all of these things on this wonderful thing we have called the internet. Great things about friends, they call you on your B.S. when you are full of it, as Michael Franti says. Again, an assist to Margie who reminded me how right Nick was.

In our lives, it is often when we push outside our comfort zones that we realize there are chains holding us back. It can take some introspection to discover what they truly are. It may also take some hard truth from a close friend. We must keep our minds open and be honest with ourselves if we hope to free ourselves from our chains. What are some of your chains holding you back and how can you free yourself from them?