Power Down your Shields for Personal Development

Would you be surprised to learn that you are your own worst enemy when it comes to consciously creating a wonderful life for yourself?

Seriously – without even knowing that we are doing it, we tend to put powerful shields around our lives that keep out the very things that we think we so desperately want.

Yes, I know what you're thinking. "I don't 'think' I want anything – I know exactly what I want!"

Well, don't take this the wrong way, but that statement begs the question: Why don't you have it then? 

All of us have the unconscious tendency to block out success in our lives because deep down inside we either don't believe that it's possible to be successful, or we don't truly believe that we are worthy of success.

That, of course, is utterly ridiculous. However, until you learn to power down those shields, you will keep right on blocking the very success that you think you want.

Relationships

How many times have you said to yourself:

• "My next relationship will have…"
• "My next relationship will not have…"
• "I am so sick of…"
• "I am never going to put up with…"
• "I am going to break free from…"

Any of this starting to sound familiar? We've all done it, and most of us continue to do it on a regular basis. However, no matter how many times we make statements such as those, we still end up unhappy with our relationships.

We are either in relationships that we don't want to be in, or we can't find the relationships that we do want to be in. However, no matter how many times we affirm statements like those above, our status never changes. 

The reason for that is because each time someone comes along that might be able to break us out of the relationship rut, our inner Sci-Fi fanatic starts screaming, "Shields! Shields!"

Sometimes it's a close call, but we usually manage to get those shields up just in time to avoid getting into a happy relationship. Whew – that was close!

Careers

We definitely do this when it comes to our careers, don't we? A business or employment opportunity comes along that has the potential to finally break us out of our self-imposed financial or career rut, and we start to get excited about the possibilities.

We start to think about how great it would be to work for that company, to keep that kind of schedule, to make that kind of money, etc. The more we think about the possibilities, the more excited we get, and before we know it, we're on the brink of a serious positive breakthrough.

Then what?

SHIELDS!

Our self-limiting beliefs kick back in and we start to think about all of the reasons why things might not work out as well as we had expected. We manage to not only talk ourselves out of a great opportunity, but we'll usually go overboard and convince ourselves that it was such a bad idea that it's amazing we ever even considered it.

Another close call! Good thing we've still got our present dead-end job and empty bank account to fall back on, isn't it???

Health and Weight Loss

Have you ever sworn up and down that you were going to lose weight? Have you ever told everyone about how THIS time you were really going to stop smoking? Have you ever woken up with a hangover and an alcohol-induced blackout that caused you to promise yourself that you were going to give up drinking?

If you are overweight as you read this, but don't want to be, if you smoke, but don't want to, or if you drink more than you think you should, I have just one question for you:

Who is responsible for your lack of success?

Now, don't get me wrong and think that this is coming from some "holier than thou" standpoint. I've got a few habits that are less then exemplary, but the difference is that I don't want to stop doing them. Remember the post A Good Way to  have a Bad Habit?

However, most people who have bad habits or unpleasant lifestyle circumstances do not want those circumstances or habits anymore, yet they still keep stopping themselves from giving them up.

• Whenever the opportunity comes along to get involved in a reasonable diet and exercise program, what stops you from taking advantage of it?
• When someone offers to support you 100% in your efforts to stop smoking, what stops you from taking advantage of that offer?
• Whenever people in your life offer to start doing non-alcohol related activities with you, what is it that keeps you from doing so? 

Shields. Self-limiting beliefs. Lack of self-confidence. No will power.

You can call it whatever you want, but the bottom line is always – always – the same:

As long as you believe on the inside that success is not possible for you, you will find a way to prove yourself right over and over and over again. 

However, you can make positive changes by simply allowing success to come into your life. You'll have to power down your shields and risk actually achieving success in order to do it, though.

Are you up for it, or are you going to keep hiding? 

Discuss this post at Personal Development Partners