So you finally got your business up and running, things are looking up, the world is falling into perfect alignment all around you, and you can’t believe your luck… and then wham… you hit a brick wall. Sound familiar?
It’s not a brick wall, it’s more like a glass ceiling, one that you didn’t see coming.
This honey, is called your upper limit.
If you haven’t read The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks then I highly recommend you do, especially if you’re having consistent upper limit problems, which isn’t actually a bad thing!
Upper limits can manifest themselves in lots of different ways. Some of us get ill, others start fights with friends and loved ones, sometimes we piss off our best client, or do something irreversibly stupid or daft. It’s what we do when life becomes too good… so much so that we freak and force a way back to our ‘comfort zones’. Nuts right? But we all do it!
How many singers have contracted a ‘throat infection’ before the biggest gig of your career? How many of you have missed the one funding deadline that could have skyrocketed your project into next levels of crazy coolness? Or how about those huge unexpected bills we seem to manifest just as everything is going perfectly? Or turning down help when we need it most because we’re scared of the inevitable change?!
It’s not bad luck, the world doesn’t hate you, you’re just attached to your comfort zone and you self-sabotaged to stay there.
You didn’t need me to tell you how messed up humans are though I’m sure…
So how do we push past upper limits and continue on the path to success?
- Awareness
It might seem like the obvious first step for those of you who are already resonating with this idea of upper limits, but if you do start to notice ‘shit going wrong’ in your life unexpectedly, weigh up the idea of it being your upper limit regulator kicking in and acknowledge it could be you getting in your own way. Once you bring awareness to your upper limits, it’s easier to move past them. Moving past the invisible… is well, impossible.
2. Acceptance
By this point you’ve already mucked up. Make peace with it. You’re human. Beating yourself up after the event is only going to further indulge your comfort zone frequency. Rise above your damn self and do some forgiving. Take a step away from the office or studio, and go for a walk. Change up your environment, and your routine, by implementing some immediate self-healing, self-love, and self-forgiveness. Take the evening off to break the cycle and view this as your ‘pattern interrupter’. Take out, Netflix, bubble bath, chocolate, whatever it takes. Love yourself. (Some people go to the gym. I don’t understand this). Tomorrow morning, there will be no more glass ceiling.
3. Action
Re-engage with the dream, and plot a different route to success if necessary. Write down the ultimate goal. Make this point B. This is where we are going. Then write down where you’re up to right now. Make this point A. Then step by step figure out (backwards) how we’re going to get from A to B. If it takes a million baby steps to get there, it doesn’t matter, plot them out on your map, and feel the confusion, anxiety, and upper limit melt away, as you force yourself to see how entirely possible this is, and not only are you deserving of this ultimate goal, you know exactly how to make it happen (if you don’t, seek out me as your coach, I got you).
Now if there’s something on that map that feels uncomfortable, address whether it’s your upper limit talking, or whether the unease was brought on by being out of alignment with your values and your ultimate goal. If a step doesn’t fit, brainstorm ten other ways to bypass it and write them in. Nothing is impossible.
4. Affirmation
You HAVE to believe you want and deserve this otherwise you’ll never break free of your glass house. Meditate, visualise, talk to yourself, journal it, stick it on your vision board, tattoo it on your forehead… whatever you need to do to constantly remind yourself that you can do this.
Repeat after me:
“I am deserving and worthy of abundance”
“I have a gift to share with the world”
“I am professional and productive, I fit a lot into my day”
“I’m an awesome business person and know exactly how to do this”
“I have upper limit issues and I’m OK with that, because I can break free”
“My life is incredible, I have achieved all my goals and will continue to smash through them”
… and so on… you get the jist, find what works for you and repeat!
Leave yourself sticky notes on the insides of your cupboards and drawers. Write messages on the shower screen when it steams up. Tell your shoes before you put them on. Sing it in your head whilst you’re brushing your teeth. Scream if from the rooftops if you have to, but do it, because this vibration, matched with your map, will take you exactly where you want to be.
To your journey!
With love as ever