You’re Keeping Yourself From Reaching Your Fullest Potential — Here’s Why
“I am” statements dictate your legacy
Productivity gurus are sweating.
They want you to think you need a dozen organization apps and cold showers to get your sh!t done.
If there’s one thing you’re doing that’s preventing you from creating your ideal legacy, it isn’t the temperature of the water hitting your skull in the AM.
This is it.
This is what you should stop doing
Stop making “I am” statements that do not serve you.
Everyone does it. I do it. What matters now is that you start recognizing it.
Here’s an example.
The pandemic is canceled. It’s almost summer, which means backyard parties and drinking seltzers into the night.
You’re catching up with friends, having a good time — that’s when the true version of you comes out. You start talking about yourself, seriously, jokingly, and negatively all simultaneously.
You say things like:
“I can’t function without my coffee.”
“I am not a morning person.”
“I cannot sleep unless I smoke weed.”
“I don’t want to leave my job because I don't know what else there is for me.”
These seem like harmless statements. The people around you will probably agree with you, nod, and tell you you’re living life right.
But the problem is you’re the average of your friends. They will side with you, and you will side with them, and none of you will make progress unless one person speaks up and says, hey, wake up.
That’s me. I’m your friend today.
Are you building roadblocks for yourself?
Roadblocks come in all shapes, humans, and timeframes.
Our seemingly biggest speedbump is the day job. We have it to pay the car bill, and we need the car to make it to the job. The endless cycle haunts us, but the job isn’t the roadblock. It's your attitude toward it.
Bad bosses, stressful deadlines, and long commutes aside, you’re responsible for your lifestyle. The way you treat your day-to-day is a reflection of the respect you have for yourself.
The job makes us think thoughts we don’t mean; we're just conditioned to believe it’s normal to drink coffee, work until 5 PM, workout after our shift (if we feel like it), and repeat the cycle all over again.
We think there isn’t time for anything else in our day. We believe this is the way life is supposed to be.
But it’s not.
You’re living in a self-proclaimed matrix when you say you “can’t do something” or “I am not good enough.”
When you make these claims, you lock away a better version of yourself.
We say these things because it’s hard to craft a life most people don’t chase. It’s risky. But remember, successful people take risks other people weren’t willing to take.
What it’s like to be free from this mindset
When you don’t unknowingly dunk your self-worth into the toilet, you look at the scope of your life through a different lens.
The hazy window becomes transparent, and you see the path ahead. You blossom into a more confident person, and others take notice.
Those who work in silence are often the loudest.
Now, I can tell myself every day, “I will be financially free,” but there’s a long road ahead of me if I want to accomplish my goals. This is when most people slip back into their comfort zone.
You could have a job you really like and rise through the ranks until you become a manager. But in the back of your mind, you might know you can run your own business where you answer to no one.
There are two choices:
Take the red pill or the blue pill.
I’m serious. The metaphor works for a reason.
Take the blue pill, and forget about your dreams of becoming a successful content creator. Work your job, buy your house, and raise a family of four.
Take the red pill, write blogs after-hours, slowly accrue a following of superfans, and one day make enough money through 1-on-1 coaching calls to get out of the 9–5.
The choice is yours.
So, instead of making statements that don’t serve you, do the opposite, even if you don’t fully believe them (yet).
“I will reach my full potential.”