Break Free from your Artificial Boundaries

When you drive down the highway, you can’t help but notice that there is an imposed speed limit.

When you want to purchase a home, the bank imposes a credit limit.

It doesn’t matter where you turn, there are limits.

Limits to how much you should eat.

Limits to how many days off you can take from work.

And of course, the limits imposed on ourselves by us?

Do you frequently sit back and think about what is happening in your life, what you are doing, where you are going? Or why you are where you are? I’m sure you do. That is something most of us do, occasionally at best, on a regular basis.

Did you ever consider that you deserve to be happier than what you are or get better out of whatever you desire? When you are mentally reflecting on your way of living, do you get the feeling that you are flying too close to the ground and that there is a strong possibility you could soar as high as you desire and experience happiness above and beyond what you do now ? So what’s stopping you where you are? Do you think you limited yourselves, your experiences and actions?

It’s comforting to have a fence which no one can breach but these boundaries are just a way to avoid the present or to shun uncomfortable feelings, like anger, fear, guilt or criticism. Have you ever checked if your boundaries are working well for you? How do you feel caged in the self-imposed limits?  Do you feel happy?  Did you escape the anger, fear, guilt, criticism and hurt? I am certain that you didn’t because anything you resist will persist. So, don’t you think it’s a high time to push your boundaries a little and see what you are capable of?

Quite evidently, we didn’t set the confines’ for fun; some we did because of the fear of failure or of being hurt; we enforced some on ourselves when our parents and teachers taught us to play safe with the best of the intentions to protect us from odds. After all, they love us, right? But did any of those limits really protect us from good things happening or from what we feel within?

We all have battle scars, but some of us have more trouble letting go the old dogmas that are limiting. While we can go on blaming others, whine and quit; we still have a choice to accept and get over it. Stop seeing yourself as a failure or pulling yourself down because of some incident or someone. Don’t dwell on catastrophe. Holding on to terrible memories and feelings is both exhausting and counterproductive. Move beyond your old beliefs and allow yourself to work past the pointless patterns, get more done and move forward.

The only impeding limits are our limiting beliefs. The limits that we have are artificial. They are not real; they are imaginary. And, because they are synthetic, they can be altered. Rather than permitting yourself to be boxed in by perceived constraints, rethink how you have been thinking by focusing on the possibilities rather than limits or obstacles.

Take responsibility for yourself, your life, and your mind, find the courage and determination; start by not making any boundaries. Engage your mind in a game of mental gymnastics where you break through the boundaries of the probable. Give yourself permission to dream, to risk, to go after what you want. Many say it’s better to be safe than sorry. But really … if you always play it safe, you might end up being sorry! At the end of the day, we regret the things we didn’t do more than the things we did! Quit limiting your desires to what you think you can have or what you think you deserve.

The doubt, fear, and worry that you experience when stepping out of your boundaries may cause you to retreat to what you perceive as safety. Unfortunately, that’s the most dangerous place you could live because there is no growth there. And where there is no growth, there is disintegration. Nothing ever stays the same. You’re either moving forward towards something bigger and better or you’re going in the opposite direction.

The experience of living with yourself can be the most wonderful experience imaginable. Wake up every morning to the joy of being you and with you. Anything can turn out to be in our greatest good if we approach it in ways from which we can grow. We can willingly transform our lives into something better if we trust our feelings; feelings even when not tangible are real; they are our thoughts in action and have a lot to say about our internal worlds. We can’t control what happens to us, but we have a lot to say about how we react and, therefore, what happens in us.

In many areas of our life, what is within our reach is enough to stagger the mind. We don’t have to know how to get what we want; once we start to visualize ourselves with it the solutions will begin to appear. Get out of the old idea that you must know how to do or get what you want; it is part of the artificial boundary. Think of a dramatic quantum leap– forget common sense and stretch your imagination.

Force yourself to move forward. Draw on your inner strengths, the people who love you, and your faith to transform your life into something better. Formulate a vision of a more purposeful life filled with people and experiences that will help you become more fulfilled and unlimited.

If there is one thing you should be totally comfortable taking a risk on, that should be yourself.

After all, when you make up your mind to be so, you’re unstoppable!

“The limits of possible can only be defined by going beyond them in to the impossible’’- Arthur C. Clarke