By: Carol Talbot
Every year thousands of people across the globe attend courses and buy books on goal setting, goal getting and personal achievement. Their goals are often the same ones they made last year such as going to the gym more often, watching less television, eating healthy food or meditating every day. The sad truth is most never reach their true potential or put into practice the tools and techniques that they have learned because they simply go back to the way they’ve always done things.
It appears in life that you get one of two things: either the results you want, or the reasons or excuses for not getting the results you want. Excuses and reasons include: “I didn’t achieve my goal of being fit and healthy because being overweight runs in our family”, “it’s genetic”, “I didn’t get the job I wanted because I don’t have a degree”, “My health is not good enough and it holds me back”, “I don’t have enough money to do anything to change my situation”, “I have too many responsibilities”, “I can’t change, I’m too old”. Do any of these sound familiar?
Just for a moment imagine a time in the future when you didn’t have any reasons for not getting what you want, and all your excuses have disappeared. How empowering would that be?
It’s time to consider yourself to be a bus driver, driving your life in different directions. Sometimes you pick up well-behaved passengers and sometimes they are unruly. The passengers are your thoughts and feelings. At times they can be rude and noisy shouting out things like ‘you’re a reckless driver,’ ‘you’re lost and have no idea where you’re heading,’ or ‘get a move on! ‘. And at times they can be empowering like: “Wow, that was a good move, keep going in that direction”.
Basically it boils down to this: If you are ready to grab the steering wheel and take your foot off the brake, then it is possible to change your life story. You can reclaim back your personal power and create a different ripple effect in your world, by changing your perspective.
Here are three ways to challenge some of your reasons and excuses for not having your life the way you want it:
Excuse # 1‘I’m just unlucky, I can’t do anything about it’
How to challenge it: Be the cause for all the effects in your life. Life is a chain reaction of causes and effects. Everything that happens was caused by what happened before and is the effect for what will happen next. The important thing is whether you choose to think of yourself as being on the Cause side of the equation or on the Effect side. Some people seem stuck on the ‘Effect’ side of life, bemoaning their bad luck. Others habitually think of themselves on the ‘Cause’ side of life, always doing and achieving things. The question to ask yourself is ‘How have I created this situation in my life?’ and more importantly, ‘What can I do about it?’
Excuse #2‘I’m not good enough, ‘I’ll never amount to anything’ How to challenge it: No doubt you have heard the saying, ‘whether you believe you can, or whether you believe you can’t, you’re probably right!’ Your beliefs form the rules that you run your life on for better or for worse. Your beliefs are literally behind everything you do whether you know it or not. People often think that experience is what leads to beliefs, but it’s actually the other way around. Your beliefs shape your destiny.
For example, if deep down you believe you’re not good enough to accomplish something, then that belief will create your reality. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. So when was the last time you examined your beliefs? Are they outdated and only supporting a limited view of what’s really possible for you? Maybe it’s time to choose your own beliefs rather than operate from those passed down by your ancestors.
You begin to change your beliefs in the moment you start to recognize them. Imagine turning the light on in a dark room so that you can instantly see
what has been tripping you up when you’ve been walking around. Now the light is on!
Excuse #3:It won’t work for me,’ ‘Bad things always happen to me’ How to challenge it: Your thoughts and what you create in the world is expressed in your language, therefore if you change your language, you begin to change your universe. Thoughts are just thoughts and they can be changed. Work on self-awareness
and changing the language you use every day to label people, events, situations and circumstances in your life. As soon as the label you put on them changes, your experience and perception of the person, the event, the situation or the circumstance also changes.
Once you realize you are the one creating your life, it gives you the power to change it. You can choose to pay attention to different things and interpret experiences differently, When you change on the inside, everything will start to change on the outside, as change begins within.
Carol is sought after by organizations and individuals seeking a learning consultant and keynote speaker. She is a Master NLP trainer and certified fire walker facilitator. Carol has set herself apart for more than two decades and enjoys sparking inspiration, creativity and greatness within individuals and teams worldwide. Whether one-on-one or to audiences of thousands when Carol speaks, people listen. Her latest book You The Divine Genius is now an Amazon international best seller. www.caroltalbot.me