Mental Barriers - The Power of a Positive Attitude

The truth is we all have our own mental barriers that we often let distract us, or hinder us from accomplishing our goals. I define a mental barrier as: An imaginary limitation the mind creates, that is driven by fear and / or frusteration that gets in the way of your focus toward acheiving a specific goal.

 

Most mental barriers create an emotional response and end up taking a physical toll - Stress.

Mental Barriers can consist of:

I cannots

I wish

I hope

BUT

If...

Excuses

Unrealistic aims toward perfection rather then progress.

Not only can negative "doubts" in one's ability be harmful, but also expecting perfection. Often mental barriers may be created subconsciously with good intentions. One example of this would be the creation of doubt in the mind. While we all doubt our abilities from time to time, dwelling in the doubt can breed a large amount of stress and stunt the growth process.

How Do You Know if You have a Mental Barrier that Should be Addressed?

Ask Yourself these Questions:

• Do you often get frusterated during physical or mental perforances that are consistently not where you hoped they would be?
• Do you find yourself negatively speaking about your progress?
• Do you include the terms: And, If, But, I wish into sentences involving your progress as a means to an escape (also known as excuses)?
• Do you negatively look at your current progression; rather than being proud for the accomplishments you've already acheived?
• Do you find those who have your best interest constantly giving you advice to re-charge or think positively?



If you answered yes to one or more of the above questions, it may be useful for you to evaluate your current limitations you have put onto yourself. Here are some tips to rid yourself of self-created mental barriers:

• Write down your affirmations
• Build faith in yourself & your mentors
• Continue consistent hard work via willpower (despite negative states of mind) - JUST DO IT
• Rid yourself of unnecessary stressors.
• Keep a stress journal to pinpoint your triggers for creating problems that do not exist.
• Surround yourself in a positive environment.
• Create your own supportive environment and choose who is involved.
• Practice daily gratitude.
• Set aside time for yourself.
• Get adequate amounts of food and sleep to help yourself think clearly.
• Do not listen to too many opinions - listen to those you trust.
• Educate yourself as much as possible in how to acheive your goals in different ways. Create a plan A, B and C.
• Do not allow yourself to fail because of an emotion (doubt).

Remember that you have power over your thoughts. Think of your mind as your body's control center. If you have a negative thought, do whatever you can to re-direct your energy in a positive way (Find the good in things). Many people do not realize that our negative thoughts can create physical responses from our body's in the form of stress. Stress has many negatiave health affects, and should be managed with care. While stress is a state of mind, it is important that we change our way of thinking in order to address the root causes of our stressors.Many methods provide a temporary relief, but I urge you to consider your current thought processes in order to attack your stressor from at the root of the cause.

So, stay positive!! I encourage you if you are lacking progress to look at your mental barriers. You will be surprised at the things that can manifest just because of your words or thoughts. Your thoughts turn into actions. Attack the negativity head on and you will be sure to succeed!

The Sky is the Limit - The only real challenge we face is allowing ourselves to think beyond "realistic", and embrace the possiblities.