Ask yourself honestly: what’s keeping me from doing what I want to do? And I’m talking about ALL the stuff you want to do … even the stuff you don’t talk about wanting to do … even the stuff that you want to do in your deepest, most secret longings. What’s holding you back?
I ask this question of myself and my clients, friends, and family a lot. The top replies I get, time and again, are:
I don’t know. - ‘I don’t know what I want.’ ‘I don’t know what’s holding me back.’ It’s all the same. When we say ‘I don’t know’, what we’re really saying is ‘I don’t care enough about myself or my life to take an active interest in it.’ You DO know. You just aren’t allowing your inner knowing to come to light. Do some work to uncover what you know. Then act on it. Your life will blossom in the most beautiful ways if you can muster the bravery and energy to do this.
I can’t afford it. - Ah, dipping into the classics … money issues. The ‘I can’t afford it’ excuse is simply a mindset issue. Once you accept this, and start working to shift your mindset from one of scarcity, lack, and fear to one of abundance and ease; you will be able to remove this phrase from your vocabulary forever. You will realize that the Universe possesses all you could ever want, and you always have access to it so long as you believe you do. It’s a gorgeous awakening. And it’s yours for the small price of showing up and shifting your mindset.
I have extenuating circumstances that prevent me from doing whatever it is I want to do. - This is crap. Anyone can have extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances is just another way of saying excuses. Extenuating literally means to make a fault or offense seem less serious. When you are claiming ‘extenuating’ circumstances, you are, in effect, stating that your circumstances are lessening the pain of your failing to show up for yourself and fulfill your own desires. You’re giving yourself permission to play small. You’re effectively telling the world (and yourself) that you are okay with the fact that you are giving away your own free will in order to be unhappy because you’re instead creating circumstances for yourself that give the illusion that you aren’t very powerful after all. You’re creating a loop of dissatisfaction for yourself by neglecting to create circumstances that feel awesome and self-promoting, and creating circumstances that feel unpleasant and induce misery and suffering to explain why you aren’t creating the awesome circumstances. Do you see the ridiculousness in this scenario? You create your circumstances. What you focus on, you create. Stop using your crappy circumstances as a crutch, and start changing your circumstances. End of story. (… she says with great love and compassion.)
I’m afraid of failing. - Well, this one is kind of an obvious one. If you aren’t living your highest bliss in every moment, or taking empowered action to do so, then you’re already failing. This excuse doesn’t fly. You’ve just become comfortable with the familiarity of your current form of failure. Dare to try something different. If you fail, so what? Failure is nothing but an opportunity to figure out how better to succeed. Fall down, get back up, dust yourself off, pull up your big girl (or boy) pants, and try again! And don’t be afraid to ask for a little support if you get stuck. It doesn’t do anyone any good to keep flailing about in a panic when you’re ass deep in a pit of quicksand. Instead, get still for a second, take a breath, and ask someone to help pull you out.
I’m afraid of succeeding. - This excuse usually doesn’t surface right away. It often takes a little digging to allow it to come to the surface. Still, it’s a pretty common excuse. Many of us, as previously noted, have become comfortable living with our familiar patterns of failure. It can be terrifying to imagine venturing into the unknown abyss of success. But when you really wrap your head around what you’re saying when you make this excuse … when you really wrap your head around the fact that you’re saying you’d rather be perpetually miserable and resentful and sick and tired in your life instead of happy, healthy, and fulfilled because you know how it feels to be miserable, resentful, and sick and tired … you can hopefully see the utter asshattery of it all. It’s time to grow a pair, my darlings. And I say that with great love and respect. This is when you absolutely must get radically and brutally honest with yourself and decide if you do, in fact, WANT to be happy in life, or not. The choice is yours. But until you decide you really WANT something better, you won’t be motivated enough to cross that chasm of all that is unfamiliar and unsure. Once you make that decision, and connect with WHY you are making it, you can wear that knowledge like a life jacket as you sail out into uncharted waters.
If any of these excuses resonate for you, you’re in good company. You can also feel encouraged with the awareness that they are just excuses. They can be overcome. Yes, even by you … especially by you!
If, when reading these excuses, you think to yourself, ‘but my excuse is different … it’s actually out of my control’, I can tell you right now that it isn’t. No one (or thing) can control your experience other than you, unless you let them. (And whether or not you let them is in your control. See how that works?)
If you’re ready to let go of your own excuses and start living a life you actually enjoy, then step up now. Make that decision right now. And decide that you will not allow ANYTHING to keep you from your dreams and desires.
If you want some help making it happen, I’m here! Let’s get you signed up for a FREE Unblock Your Bliss session to see what it’s going to take to move you into your next level version of yourself, the more powerful version of yourself that doesn’t allow flimsy excuses to keep you from being happy and having fun. Message me, email me, or go HERE to apply.
You’ve got this, beautiful. I know you do.