Ever hear yourself say, Yeah, I want to do that, but…?
I want to have that, but…?
I want to be that, but…?
When I first started my business 17 years ago, I had just left corporate. My vision was big for a newbie. I wanted to make the 6-figures I’d made as a corporate manager, and then some, in my first year.
That would be awesome. That would be energizing, inspiring, and a launching pad for doing creative and great things in my business.
Yay possibility! I was psyched to learn what needed to be learned and do what needed to be done to achieve my goal.
Then (scary organ music), the buts started knocking at the door.
People started saying things like, it’s great that you’re trying this, but you know you won’t make as much as you did in your corporate job, right? You may have great skills, but being self-employed isn’t easy. It takes a long time to ramp up. My friend Jim tried it, but he’s back in a regular job.
I started thinking, well, if I just make half of what I made in my job (6 figures), I would still be ok. I have fewer expenses, and I get to deduct some things, so I would be fine with that. I would still get by, and at least I’d be out of my corporate job.
I began to limit myself.
Nothing else had changed. I still had the skills, the experience, the contacts, the ability to learn, the capacity to achieve.
I just started thinking differently.
So what did my change in thinking really mean, after the buts?
I would like to achieve my vision, BUT it’s probably not do-able. I’ll settle for something less.
One big but can stop you in your tracks.
BUT is just a 3-letter word that means self-limitation.
I was limiting myself, with the addition of one 3-letter word to my thinking.
That word, BUT, holds a lot of power. Words are important. Words bring what is inside, out. If your inside is full of self-doubt, then your language will reflect that.
AND, happily, it also works the other way.
Words that you hear, see, speak all influence you. That’s why we’re so drawn to people who speak positively, to books and articles that reflect a view of possibility, to stories of people who have succeeded and want to share with us how they did it.
When you take that in, it becomes yours, part of your inside.
What are your other options, with your own words, inside yourself and you choose to say?
- I want to do this, AND I will find out how. I know I can learn, and I know I can put what I learn into practice.
- I want to have this, THEREFORE I will draw on my ingenuity, my resources to find a way to manifest it. I know I’m smart and creative, and I have all kinds of resources to help me to achieve my goal.
- I want to be this, SO I will hold fast to my dream and learn, little by little, how to shift and change and transform. I know I will become the person I need to be to make that dream come alive.
As for me in my first year of business, once I stopped listening to buts and started listening to possibility, I shifted my thinking.
AND I hit the 6-figure mark a little after my first year.
Sure, I was unsure of myself at times. I was seriously out of my comfort zone! I was scared. My new business was my only source of income and I had bills to pay. I didn’t want to have the embarrassment and disappointment of failing.
AND I had faith in my ability to learn, grow, and expand. I had the support I needed to really embrace the vision of myself as a successful entrepreneur by taking action as well as holding the belief.
I even got more comfortable being outside my comfort zone, because I refused to entertain limitation for very long.
So how about you? Want to let a 3-letter word get in the way of you achieving your goals, your vision?
Or do you want to step away from self-limitation into a whole big world of possibility, of intention, and of taking action to make your vision come alive?
Here’s a tip to transform your self-limitation (a little alchemy J):
For the next day, watch your language! You don’t need to judge it – just watch and see when ‘but’ comes up when you think or talk.
When you notice it, replace ‘but’ with another word, a possibility word like, and, so, or therefore. Then finish the sentence.
Do that enough, and you’ll become more aware, and more creative in your possibility-finding. You’ll find solutions to problems you didn’t even know you had! I certainly did when I started paying more attention. I still work this when the ‘buts’ come knocking!
You’re an awesome being. You have great things to share with the world. And your business is the venue you’ve chosen to share much of it.
Let possibility inspire you. If you can dream it, you can find a way to do it.
What you’re envisioning may not end up looking exactly like what you imagined. My business sure didn’t!
AND even so, you’ll be more expansive, more capable, more knowledgeable, and more successful when you tell self-limiting thinking, buh-bye.
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So whadya think?
Do you have some ‘buts’ that are hanging around in your business and life that you want to give the boot?
Do you have any of those same thinking hurdles that I do?
Leave a comment and let me know!