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After the way 2020 turned out, with a pandemic that shook us to the core and won’t vanish at the stroke of midnight on December 31, you might be wondering whether you really have a chance to achieve your true potential in the coming year or ever.
I believe we all need a pat on the back for coming so far. It’s been a tough ride and many of us lost friends, family and a lot more but we’ve also learned a lot along the way.
When I look back to this time a year ago, I was quite excited by the thought of a new year and a new decade and it was all wonderful until that day in March when India went into total lockdown with 4 hours’ notice.
When unlocking started in phases, I realized the world had changed and the need to navigate a new normal – one that had taken away a lot of my usual social activities and a host of other issues that required maintaining distance from others especially while walking Miss Coco.
It’s been a year of self-discovery and great learning too. Change has brought a change in perspective.
That’s why I believe there is merit in George Eliot’s quote and it is even more relevant right now.
One can really achieve more in one’s life, whether on the personal or professional front provided we believe in ourselves and our potential.
Sadly, that’s not what I see around me.
Some lost their jobs, some finally accepted being disenchanted with their jobs and others felt they had lost ground in their career.
Just like before the pandemic struck, I see professionals who have taken 1 career track and have reached a stage where their present vocation doesn’t give them satisfaction but when I ask them to explore new possibilities, they resist it thinking it is too late.
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On deeper reflection, I’ve pinned this resistance to 2 factors – listening to the Inner Critic that goads you to embrace your Limiting Beliefs and a resistance to Change even when it is inevitable.
Let go of the Critics and listen to the wisdom of your Higher Self
The truth is, it’s never late provided you have a well thought out plan supported by strategy and tactics that will bring you closer to your heart’s desire.
Denying yourself the opportunity to achieve your true potential because your Inner Critic or others say you cannot, is the greatest disservice you can do to yourself and your Soul.
We often don’t realize our true potential and think that if we are good at one thing, then we cannot be good in another. We specialize and look down on the generalist not realizing that perhaps the latter is far happier because he is in touch with his true God given capabilities.
When we try to break out of the mould, there are enough naysayers who will try to hold us back and stop us from becoming what we can be.
Not because they don’t believe in us but rather because if we step outside of the herd, it will disturb the status quo and their own excuse for not changing will become redundant.
In my post Awaken the Sleeping Lion within You, I share an Indian folk tale and go deeper into the herd mentality that keeps us as part of a group at the expense of our individuality and personality.
Society can condition an individual’s intellect and lead them to believe that they have limited strength to achieve his purpose.
The individual’s sense of personal existence is a conditioned belief of society’s lack of awareness of the true Self-Being. This conditioning breaks the link of the individual with his Higher Self and the person believes that they are the Doer and alone in this life.
In order to break free from these often self-imposed restrictions, it is important to realize that there is a Power and Presence of God often referred to as the Source of Power, a Life Energy within each of us, which if we allow it, can guide us to do all manner of good in our life.
In essence, remove the error of your conditioned belief of own sense of personal existence and use your mind and body to serve as a vehicle and channel of your Higher Self and reach out to become what you can be.
Accept change and make it work to your benefit
Change is a part of all of our lives.
How we deal with change is often a determining factor in how happy and successful we are.
Sometimes we get lucky, and change is gradual or even easy.
Other times, change is hard, overwhelming, or downright scary- like it was this year.
This kind of change seriously impacted our lives and needs to be embraced to make sure we are able to move forward.
How do we do that, though? Follow these 7 tips to find out how.
- Change your attitude about change in general
Start fostering a more positive attitude towards change. Get used to embracing the easy changes in your life, so your mind is prepared for the hard ones.
- Think about what the cost of not changing
This tip helps when you’re ready to give up when change gets tough or overwhelming. Quite often, the pain of not changing outweighs the comfort of not trying to change. If you need the motivation to change, imagine what would happen if you didn’t.
- Don’t waste energy on things you can’t control
When massive change is imminent, take some time to reflect. Think about what aspects of this change you can control, and which aspects are out of your hand. Once that is done, focus solely on the things you have control over. This way, you aren’t wasting energy, and you are making sure this transition will go as smoothly as possible.
- Keep a Journal
I have personally found journaling effective in dealing with change, especially if it has been caused by events outside my control.
Journaling allows you a safe space to get all your thoughts and fears out. You will find that some of your trepidation dissipates when the fears from your head are put on paper.
- Trust Yourself
A lot of the reason people struggle to change is that they don’t believe in themselves. They don’t believe they deserve “good change,” and they don’t think they can handle any sort of negative change.
Work on boosting your self-esteem first, then you will naturally be more open to change. Get more guidance in my blog post Embrace the Truth, you can trust yourself.
- Your Basic Needs Still Matter
When dealing with a big change, or life transition, don’t forget to take care of yourself. Some changes are so big that they are almost all-consuming, but you can’t forget your most basic needs. Sleep, diet, and exercise shouldn’t be tossed aside because you are too worried about change.
- Make a Plan
Change is often scary because it is the unknown. But you can control parts of it with a plan. Creating a plan of action to deal with a specific change makes it easier for you to make that change when the time comes.
Even if you’re still overcoming the challenges of 2020, remember, failure isn’t the end. So banish the fear of failing and move forward with optimism.
Change how you view failure. I prefer to think of it simply as a signal for us to try something different.
When you embrace empowering beliefs and change as a catalyst for achieving your true and hidden potential, you will become unstoppable.
Want to get your Life back on track but need more focus? I have an easy solution.
Click the link to learn more Life Focus in 7 Days self-coaching workbook.
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This has definitely been a year of change and can also be considered a learning year. The world slowed down and it needed to. Focus this new year will be on love and family. I hope we continue to weed out the things we do not need. In that, we will become a success. I follow my intuition, journal, pray, meditate and set intentions. When I began this year it was set with the intention, everything with meaning, and everything with and for a purpose. It followed through to the very end. Happy New Year Vatsala.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom and adding to the conversation Heather Maria. Many of us fail to achieve our potential because we start off strong but weaken when faced with challenges. Happy New Year to you too!
This year (2020) has certainly brought into awareness many aspects of self; the good, the ugly, some of the laziness, and some hyperactivity. You’re right, our lives will never be like they were prior to March. In many ways this is a blessing.
I always enjoy reading your well-written and insightful articles. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and voice.
Happy New Year, Vatsala! May we be 2021 be gentler, joyful, prosperous and peaceful.
Thank you for your good wishes Cindy. They are heartily reciprocated. I realized quite early during the pandemic that surviving depended on one’s ability to adapt and learn to go with the flow rather than resist the change that had been thumped (literally) on us.
Sometimes our best and most powerful growth comes from a place of discomfort and if we are willing to trust that the Divine or Universe has our back, we can let go of the fear that we are not up to the challenge. We always are!
I appreciated the statement “Think about what the cost of not changing might be.” I’m not sure I’ve ever really done this in a concrete way, probably more intuitively. And it makes sense.
Happy New Year,
Lore
P.S. Brava that the blog post has been read over 900 times! WOW! I want to learn how you do this and will be contacting you after New Year’s if that’s ok.
Thanks Lore. I do a lot of things using my intuition and it works out better than using logic but I do find looking at the cost of inaction is a good way to discover what we are losing out on.
I’ll be happy to talk to you after the New Year and share how I got the views. I wish more people would comment and add to the conversation.