In life the greatest challenges come from within us. We create experiences that teach us valuable lessons every day. These lessons shape our future and the person we are destined to become. As much as we determine our own happiness we do so with our failures as well. We can be our biggest advocates or our biggest haters.
It’s not about who you are that holds you back; it’s who you think you’re not. As much as society tries to push their values and ideals onto us, it is ultimately up to us on how to live our lives.
Let’s look at the ways we are limiting ourselves.
Putting Our Happiness In Someone Else’s Hands
Focus on something other than a relationship, instead go out and get inspired by a hobby or create a goal for yourself. Improve yourself, discover a passion for something, but whatever you do, do it for yourself.
Caring Too Much About What Others Think
Ain’t nothing to it, be yourself! Why are so many people concerned with the opinions of others? Who cares what they think, they are not you. Do what makes you happy. By worrying about others, you are only limiting your true potential. Do things that will make you happy without a thought of anyone else in your mind. If you believe you can succeed, you can do anything.
Worrying Too Much About The Future
Live life in the present. Stop worrying about what the future holds and focus on creating a better today. When you constantly worry about things you cannot control, you create unnecessary anxiety for yourself.
Stereotyping
No two people are alike. How many times have you heard all men or women are bad? Just because you had an unfortunate situation with one type of person does not mean this can serve as a generalization for all types of people. Everyone has unique experiences in life, creating the person they are today. Get to know people and take them for what they are worth.
“You are your own worst enemy. If you can learn to stop expecting impossible perfection, in yourself and others, you may find the happiness that has always eluded you.”
Having Unrealistic Expectations
People will let you down on a daily basis, so it is crucial to adjust your expectations. Instead of expecting things from certain people, it is better to recognize what behaviors are acceptable and which are not. When someone behaves in a way contradictory to what you believe, simply cut them out of your life.
Stop Being Jealous
When you are jealous, you are ignoring all the positive aspects of your life. Instead of worrying about what you don’t have, embrace what you do have. We are so much more fortunate than we give ourselves credit for.
Procrastination
Stop putting things off until tomorrow that you can do today. By waiting until the last minute to accomplish things, you are only setting yourself up for failure. Good things take time, so work on things as early as possible to garner the best result. When you procrastinate, you are rushing yourself, and when you rush you tend to make mistakes.
“The person who makes you the happiest also can make you the saddest.”
Making Excuses
When you think about it, doesn’t it sound pretty simple to just be happy? If we all did the things we want, the things we love -- we’d all be content. The thing is that most people make excuses not to do certain things and go for the things that we want. Something is always holding us back, which is why we are our own worst enemies. We are victims of our own minds. The only demons we face are the ones that linger within ourselves.
Fear Of The Unknown
Instead of fearing the unknown, embrace it. When you don’t know what is going to happen, that is when excitement builds. Look at it as a challenge and step out of your comfort zone. We tend to over-exaggerate our fear of the uncontrollable and think the outcome will be much scarier than the actuality of the situation. You will gradually find out that it is not as horrible as you expected.
Doubt
We need to have more confidence in ourselves. We are much more capable than we give ourselves credit for. Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. When we doubt ourselves, we limit our ability to succeed. If you think you can do something, and you put your mind to it, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to accomplish this goal!
