15 Beliefs That Limit Your Success
Your brain purposely makes you feel like you're weak. The reason for this is to protect you from potential future pain, and in this process, it creates a series of myths about you which you believe to be true. When, in fact, they are just lies your brain is telling you, so you stay still on the couch, safe and sound. So let's find out what are the most common lies you tell yourself and how to break free from them.
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Number one: It's been done before. What's the point of starting a new venture if you can't come up with anything new and original? If everything you can think of is already being done before, what's the point? Well, this holds back so many people from building the life they deserve. The whole conversation revolves around the revolutionary idea of disregarding everything else. Well, we'd like to introduce you to the innovative, ingenious idea of selling water. There are millions of companies that sell bottled water, and new ones come up for sure. In fact, we know someone who built such a company and then sold it to a big distributor, and then did it again. And wouldn't you know it? They did it again. The same type of company, different branding, and it got sold every time. The point is just because something was done before doesn't mean that you can't do it too. There are 8 billion people on this planet. It's impossible for one company to serve every single one of them, even more so if it's being done before. You've already got the blueprints.
Number two: That won't work. We bet you've been in this situation before. You see something or someone asks for your opinion, and you say, "That won't work." And the conversation stops right there. Very few people follow up with, "Okay, but this might work." When you choose to focus on what doesn't work, you fail to give yourself the space to find out what does. People always rush to tell you something isn't gonna work because they have no idea what will, nor do they want to put in the effort to figure it out. Learn to ask, "What will make this work?" and your mentality will change instantly.
Number three: It's not for me. Listen, you don't have to be an aspiring billionaire to enjoy financial freedom. You might be in a place where financial freedom means earning around fifty thousand dollars a year from a stupid simple business that requires basic effort. By the way, we made a video on why successful people build only stupid simple businesses, which we highly recommend you watch after this one. People usually look at the top performers and decide it isn't for them, but you can be in the middle of the pack and be just fine. Plus, it acts like a boosting ramp if you want to push it a little bit further. So before deciding something isn't for you, ask yourself, "Is some of that for me?" You might not want a shredded six-pack, but you might want to be able to breathe normally after running up a flight of stairs. Don't deal in absolutes; only Siths do that.
Number four: Success is complicated. We as a society love to overcomplicate success stories and make them sound way more dramatic and inspiring. But in reality, success is just doing the right thing over a long period of time. It doesn't take too much to figure out what the right thing to do is either. It doesn't take too much to keep you from doing it, but your instant reaction is, "It can't be that simple." But in the vast majority of cases, it really is that simple. What you're lacking is a long-term perspective. For example, you know for an absolute fact that if you do the minimum required physical effort and eat well, you will get healthier after a period of time. In essence, it's not that complicated.
Number five: You need motivation. Look, if motivation is the only thing you need, you got it wrong. So many people focus solely on motivation alone to get anything done, and look, we get it, okay? Being motivated feels amazing, like you can conquer the world. But motivation is a fleeting feeling; it goes away just as fast as it comes around. The next time you don't feel motivated, instead of taking a nap, think of how you could make things more interesting. Successful people don't have infinite amounts of motivation; they've just found a good system to make the work they do have not feel terrible. Because yes, sometimes what you have to do can be boring, but instead of endlessly searching for motivation to do it, think of what will make it easier. You might just find out a few new things about yourself.
Number six: You need to sacrifice a lot. We mentioned a lot of the times that some sacrifice is required if you want to build a better life for yourself, and that sacrifice might mean a social life, living way below your means for a while, or anything like that. And when you think about it, you don't want to do it, right? So don't. If that thing is important to you, find a way to keep doing it. You can't be ashamed that you enjoy a particular thing if that thing resets your mind every day. Find a way around it.
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Number seven: You can't work hard. What is hard work anyway? What do people mean by that? Is it working long hours, working until you burn out, taking on more responsibilities than you can realistically handle? If you look around you, you'll see that people who work hard do it to overcompensate for the quality of it. People who work hard at two jobs do it because both of them pay little money because they have minimum wage skills. So don't even think about the hardness of the work you're about to do. Think about the satisfaction you will get when it's all done.
Number eight: You can't change who you are. People are much more complex than a personality test. We've all got certain biological traits, but overall, nothing really makes you act in a certain way. It's just how you decide to be based on how you view yourself within the context of the world. Some behaviors may be ingrained into your mind after years of conditioning to the point you think that's who you are, but there's no magical outside force that makes you be that way. A lot of our actions are simply reactions to things we experience, and that's something we're in control over. So it's not impossible to change the way you behave, believe, and think. It's just what you set your mind to. And this stuff right here, working to understand yourself, your actions and reactions more fully, that is something we dive deep into on the ALux app. Every day you get an actionable daily session on top of our weekly wisdom stories, our weekly sleep stories, and we cannot forget about our learning packs. We offer you curated knowledge that you can use to compound over time and create the life you want to live for yourself. If you haven't already, download the ALux app. You can find it on either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
Number nine: It's not good enough. Aim for progress, ALux, not perfection. As long as you add a plus one to something good that you're doing, then it is good enough. Just like Rome wasn't built in a day, your dream life won't happen all of a sudden; it's little by little, brick by brick. It's a slow process that requires only one thing from you, so keep on doing it.
Number ten: You don't understand how. Every time you're faced with a situation where you don't understand how things work, engage your curiosity instead of your fear. Notice how doubt starts to creep up in your mind, then toss it away and replace it with childlike curiosity. There's an immense sense of satisfaction when you figure out how something works. That's actually what makes people keep going. Don't blame yourself for your incapability, and try to excite yourself because you're facing a new learning opportunity.
Number eleven: It's too late. Here's a little thought exercise for you. Imagine there's a version of you who can see into the future and how each action you take will impact your life. Do you believe it's too late for that version of you? If not, then it's not too late for you either because you are the exact same person. We could go as far as to say that there probably is a series of very specific events which, if they happen, you will become the next president of the United States. There's a thing called the infinite monkey theorem, which states that a monkey typing on a typewriter for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type any given text. Now you don't have time to try an infinite amount of things, but you're also not a monkey. Somewhere out there, there is a series of actions, which if you take, your life will change drastically, and that's almost a mathematical fact. So it's never truly too late.
Number twelve: It's too risky. Look, in terms of risk, there are two kinds of people in this world: those who ask themselves, "What if it works?" and those who ask themselves, "What if it doesn't work?" The first group of people have a high probability of making it work. The second group will never even try it. The best advice on risk we've ever heard was this: dare to imagine how your world would look if the thing you're trying to achieve actually happens. People don't want to be disappointed, so they keep expectations really low and put chains around their dreams. Why risk it when you can be safe and comfortable and live a forgettable life? But successful people, they've learned how to conquer risk; they added it into the equation like any other variable. When people are not comfortable with risk, they do one of two things, both of which are stupid. One, they never take any, or two, they take all of it. Learn what your risk tolerance is and use it to your advantage.
Number thirteen: You're stupid. Look, we've seen the bright people who somehow convinced themselves that they are stupid. Their mind was so scared of a potential failure it made them feel incapable. This is a situation where your brain works against you instead of with you. There are so many people with mediocre intelligence who somehow managed to make things work out just fine, so why wouldn't it work out for you too?
Number fourteen: What you have is enough. The only time when what you have is enough is after you got it for yourself and then made the decision that it's enough. If you are put into a position by someone else, it's not you who decides it's enough. It's in our human nature to outgrow our current condition to a point where we feel satisfied. If the outgrowing part didn't happen, then what you have is not enough. Your mind is simply telling you it is so you won't put any stress or effort into making things better for yourself.
Number fifteen: If you are not happy now, you won't be happy in another context. This is your brain's ultimate weapon. You can't argue with logic, except you can. There's absolutely no way that a better, more enjoyable life won't make you happier. There's no way that being healthier, wealthier, and more wise doesn't contribute to your overall well-being. There's a difference between being grateful and wanting a better life for yourself. Don't let these limiting beliefs hold you back.
It has a closing thought: we've got a bonus for you.
Number sixteen: Nothing really matters. This one highly depends on how you view the world. If you're stressed out and take yourself too seriously, remember that you're a tiny creature sitting on a floating rock in space. If you can't seem to find the meaning in all of this, remember that you're the one who gives your life meaning. You can make it mean whatever you so desire.
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