5 Ways To Push Yourself Beyond Your Own Limits

Sometimes you are your own worst enemy, particularly when it comes to success. Our potential is unlimited, but you can’t coast on that. It’s imperative that you take steps to develop your skills and take action in order to succeed. You can’t sit around and wait for it to happen to you, you have to push yourself beyond your own limits. There’s also a difference between your existing skills, the ones you have yet to develop, and the limitations you’ve placed on yourself due to fear and uncertainty. Do you have the ability to recognize a genuine limitation? Here are five ways to get rid of those self-imposed boundaries and push yourself beyond your own limits.

 

1. Walk The Road Less Traveled

 

Sometimes, in order to truly find yourself, you have to first lose yourself a little. A great example of this is the British explorer and author Levison Wood. The former British Army Major is best known for his walking expeditions. He walked through six countries, along the Nile River, pushing his body through deserts and swamps, the topography constantly changing (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-29062489). He pushed himself beyond his limits and in the process he educated himself. Wood could have made this same trip in a vehicle. That vehicle could have been fully stocked with all of the creature comforts he’d need to enjoy the adventure. What he was looking for was an experience, not a trip. 

 

The point is what he did was push the limits, he absolutely took the road less traveled. You don’t have to walk the length of the Nile River, but don’t be afraid to push yourself down the road less traveled. 

 

2. Embrace Failure

 

Failure is inevitable. It doesn’t matter how great you are at something, you will experience failure. Even the greatest athletes on the planet lose sometimes. American swimmer Michael Phelps didn’t win every gold medal that he competed for. Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has experienced major losses in both European and International competitions. Do you know what winners do? They dust themselves off and they go again. It’s the only way to push yourself beyond your limits. Or, you can give up and sulk about it. 

 

3. Take the Risk

 

Life is like a marathon, and in order to run the distance, you’re going to have to take some risks. Athletes push their bodies beyond their limits, you don’t have to do that. You do have to push yourself beyond your comfort zone, though. Think about it in terms of offense and defense. If you are facing a must-win game, are you going to set your team up to defend? Or, are you going to push to score? You might think a balance of the two is the best option, but sometimes you just have to take the risk. Forget comfort, embrace the pain and take a risk. 

 

4. Unleash the Beast

 

Desperation allows you to access part of yourself that you normally suppress. It makes sense when you think about how you step up when you’re suddenly under pressure. Your boss just moved the deadline forward and now you have to grind it out. Your beast is unleashed. You can tease your beast out by throwing yourself into challenges and adventures. When you get in touch with your inner beast, it’s easier to draw on it when you really need it. So, put yourself out there and go on an adventure that scares you. 

 

5. Remember There’s No Finish Line

 

When you achieve a goal, you’re not finished. That wasn’t the finish line. You just start a new race, there’s a new challenge. Like in a triathlon when you finish the swim, you’re not done, you have to hop on a bike, and after you finish that you need to run. Except in life, you keep going. Pushing yourself beyond your own limits is essentially an invitation for pain and failure. Failure isn’t the end of the world, though. It’s just a pit-stop in your long journey. 

 

6 Characteristics of Great Leaders

From around the world and across time, great leaders can give us example to realize our own potential. From politicians to captains of industry, from around the globe, from antiquity to today, this article will discuss leaders and the six great qualities that made them great.

 

1. Focus and Self-Control

 

Martin Luther King Jr. was a 20th century civil rights leader in the United States. At a time when disparaged racial groups were denied liberty equal to those around them, many considered anger and even conflict to be the only productive approach. In this atmosphere, King, a preacher, captured the attention of the country by preaching peace and non-violent protest. 

 

That isn’t to say that King never felt anger. While presenting a calm but charismatic face to the public, those who were closest to him say that King was every bit as made as more destructive leaders of the time.

 

King’s dedication and even anger gave him focus but it was his self-control that allowed him to spread a message of peace that resonated with a larger audience and eventual won the day.

 

2. Integrity

 

Another great leader of American History was George Washington. A hero of the war that won America’s independence from Britain, Washington became America’s first president.

 

In a time full of great leadership, many of Washington’s contemporaries said that Washington’s greatest strength was his strong character. 

 

Some recent historians have since chosen to stress Washington’s faults, none argue that his strong decision-making abilities and integrity helped to forge Washington as a leader and America as a country.

 

3. Well-Rounded Interests

 

The small country of Prussia formed out of the dissolution of larger empires. As such, it was difficult for the country to make a name for itself in a rapidly changing Europe. Frederick the Great, a 17th century Prussian king, helped to shape the small nation, which would last as a world power until the early twentieth century.

 

Frederick is called “the Great,” but he is not remembered for his greatness as much as for his broad interests and even wider court. While his father was interested primarily in military matters, Frederick took interest in more cultural affairs and surrounded himself with knowledgeable ministers. By finding interests beyond his early education and making friends with a panel of experts, Frederick was able to shape the country into a cultural center of early-modern Europe.

 

4. Charisma

 

Ronald Reagan was an American president during most of the 1980s. A series of disastrous military conflicts abroad was well as a changing global economy left America reeling. The “Cold War” -- a series of escalations and proxy wars between America and the Soviet Union – had most Americans living in constant fear and confusion.

 

Like any politician, Reagan has his critics. However, the former actor’s charisma allowed him to strengthen America’s confidence in its goals providing a sense of national courage and motivation.

 

5. Dedication

 

Regularly appearing on the list of the greatest leaders of all time, Winston Churchill is remembered as being the Prime Minister of England during the second World War.

What fewer people know, however, is that Churchill first made a name for himself in British government in 1905 and continued in politics until 1955.

 

While Churchill has many of the leadership qualities that have been discussed in this article, it is dedication that allowed him to rise in power, to stay in power, and be widely supported and loved by his countrymen during a lifetime of political activity.

 

6. Innovation

 

Other than being great leaders, everyone on this list so far has one thing in common: they are dead.

 

Many of history’s great leaders have become our national heroes. However, we now live in a time just as dynamic as any before us. We have a whole pantheon of living heroes to look up to.

 

Most of today’s great leaders are characterized by an innovative and inventive spirit.

No matter where you live, or what your field of business, history and the living world around us offer many encouraging figures of great leadership.

 

6 Ways Leadership Skills Help You In Your Personal Life

Leadership skills are important for being a leader, but what about being a person? Many of the skills that are important for being a successful leader can also help you to live a healthier, happier, and more personally rewarding life. 

 

1. A More Organized Life

 

Being a leader requires great organizational skills. At work these are required to manage deadlines for your projects and for deliverables from your team, as well as to keep track of dates and responsibilities.

 

Of course, your personal life stands to benefit from these skills as well. It may or may not deal with things like deadlines and deliverables, but it may result in things like a cleaner house and car and a swifter and more organized mind and life.

 

2. Better Time Management

 

Similar to organizational skills, being a leader requires honed time management skills. At work time management skills are used to make sure that there is time for work, meetings, phone calls, and maybe even a bite to eat.

 

In your personal life, excellent time management skills can certainly help you fit more into the day. Once you have been rewired to be a little more mindful of when commitments begin and end and how long certain tasks take, you are likely to find more time in your off time.

 

3. More Effective Communication

 

Communication skills are some of the most important skills that a leader can possess. That definitely includes mediation skills. Being concise, charismatic, and diplomatic are all important for a leader but are also helpful for your personal life.

 

Whether it’s with your friends, your significant other, your children, or in an emergency, communication skills, especially mediation skills, can make a huge difference in your personal life. 

 

4. Social Mobility

 

Leadership skills and being in a leadership setting at work also contribute to social mobility. They open up new doors to new friends, groups, and social networks. These networks can help you to further develop your leadership skills, but they can also be a way for you to meet new people and have a good time.

 

6. Self-Confidence

 

Solid leadership skills can make you a more confident person. Being more confident improves all areas of your life, including professional and personal and also encourages risk taking which can promote great success and goal achievement.

 

While taking risks can be scary, knowing your self-worth can help you take advantage of risks that pay off. Risks that you may not have taken if you hadn’t proven yourself by achieving and maintaining a successful leadership role.

 

7. Less Stress

 

Having leadership skills at work and practicing them in your personal life can greatly reduce your stress levels. Leadership skills are very transferable. They make you important to your company and they help to make you marketable to other companies if something goes wrong where you are. Having this job security results in less stress and means you can devote more time and more of yourself to your family and social life. 

Utilizing your leadership skills in your personal life helps to make you more organized, manage your time better, lead your family effectively and promotes self-confidence and all of these things result in less stress overall. 

 

Final Thoughts

 

Communication, time management, and organization are some of the most significant skills for a good leader. These skills don’t stop being important when you leave the office or the field, however. Once you return home, these skills can carry their own weight. They can also lead to other benefits including confidence and social mobility.

 

These skills aren’t exclusive to those who occupy leadership positions, however. Just as you can begin to learn these skills before you get the promotion, you can begin to use these skills in your daily life no matter what your occupation is.

 

Do You Think Big Or Small?

A final question to ask yourself is whether you think big or think small. 

 

Leaders often work in terms of systems, trying to decide how best to handle large decisions with large implications. Leaders have to think big.

 

Followers, on the other hand, often have a narrow set of responsibilities that deal with more specialized knowledge. Followers have to think small.

 

Once again, there’s nothing wrong with thinking small, it just means that you are probably more valuable working with the details of your current position rather than working with the sweeping organizational choices that leaders often have to deal with.

 

Are You A Leader Or A Follower?

 

“Are you a leader or a follower?” That’s a very misleading question. It implies that leaders and followers are born, cast in different molds.

 

The truth is, whether you are more fit to be a leader, or a follower depends less on who you are as a person and more on the situation. Don’t ask yourself whether you are a lamb or a lion, ask yourself whether you have the experience and skills required to take on the job and do it well.

 

When you start asking the question based on the situation than based on yourself, you realize that the question shouldn’t be asked about what’s best for you but what’s best for the team. If you are what is best for the team, take the big chair. If you are having second thoughts, let someone else take it.

 

Are You A Leader Or A Follower?

It’s a question that is often asked with the implication that there is only one real answer. Either you are a leader, or you are worthless, fit only to be shepherded by the strong, intelligent, and brave.

 

Before we continue, it is important that you know that this is not the case. Leaders are important, but so are followers. After all, where would leaders be without followers? The world needs leaders, but it also needs followers. It’s also okay to start a follower with the aim of becoming a leader, or to be a leader today and a follower tomorrow.

 

Whatever the case, it’s probably easier to break the question up into questions that address the qualities of leadership. This article won’t tell you whether you are a leader or a follower, but it will help you to answer the question reliably for yourself.

 

Are You Confident With The Situation?

 

Confidence is important to leadership, both confidence in yourself to lead and confidence in yourself to handle the situation. If you aren’t sure that you can lead or aren’t familiar with the type of situation that you are faced with, you probably aren’t the best person to lead in that situation. 

 

Passing up a leadership position in this situation will protect you from making a critical error in a leadership position but it will also protect the team by allowing a better prepared person to step forward, increasing the team’s chances of success.

 

You also should have confidence in your team. Without a good team, the project will likely fail. If you don’t see much chance of success, do you want to be a leader or a follower when the ship goes down? Sometimes the decision to be a leader or a follower is based more on the situation than it is on your ability.

 

How Do You Handle Pressure?

 

When faced with great responsibility, some people rise to the occasion and others collapse under the pressure. Knowing which one you are can help you decide not whether you are right for the position but whether the position is right for you.

 

It is also important to consider what kind of position you are looking at. Some leadership positions mean that you are truly at the top of the heap, while other leadership positions mean that you are in charge of a team but are also answering directly to someone else. The latter kind is often more stressful.

 

Assessing Your Self-Sabotaging Behaviors

Are you sabotaging yourself? Have you been keeping yourself from succeeding and standing in your own way?

 

If you answered yes, it’s time to assess your self-sabotaging behaviors. In this article, we’ll help you identify if you're sabotaging yourself and help you overcome it. 

 

You’ll learn:

 

● How to watch for the warning signs of self-sabotage

● How to generate goals instead of excuses

● How to recognize your problem areas

 

Let’s get started!

 

Are you sabotaging yourself? 

 

If you’ve noticed that nothing seems to go your way, that around every turn there tends to be some disaster or trouble, but you just can’t figure out what’s causing it, you might want to do some self-reflection. After all, most likely the only thing all these situations have in common is you.

 

Are you limiting yourself or letting fear get the better of you? Are you always making excuses, no matter how small the mistake or transgressions? Are you sabotaging yourself?

 

Watch for the warning signs

 

Partaking in any of the following behaviors to excess are important warning signs for self-sabotage:

 

● Self-medicate (drinking, drug use, etc.) 

● Making excuses

● Making less effort

● Distracting yourself

 

If you notice these behaviors in yourself, you may need to pull yourself out of your self-sabotaging behaviors.

 

Stop making excuses

 

Excuses are like poison and once they seep their way in, they’re nearly impossible to get them back out again. If you find yourself always making an excuse for just about everything, even things of little to no consequence, you’re guilty of self-sabotage. 

 

Rather than make excuses, make goals. Rather than just excuse the behavior or situation away, take the time to analyze it and determine what went wrong, what factors were in your control, and what you could’ve done better. Turn your self-sabotaging into motivation by keeping action on your mind rather than excuses.

 

Challenging negative emotions

 

A big part of self-sabotage is self-deprecation. You have to recognize these emotions for what they are and not take them too seriously. Work through them and be kind to yourself. This effort will allow you to move into a more positive and empowering state of mind so you can get out of the horrible trend of sabotaging yourself. 

 

This can often be easier said than done, but it’s work worth doing. This is one practice that can be used to better your whole life, not just in the effort to eliminate self-sabotaging behaviors. Everyone struggles with negative emotions, it’s how you work through them that matters.

 

Recognizing your problem areas

 

Everyone has some area where they’re more self-sabotaging than others. What triggers your self-sabotaging behaviors? In what area of your life do you find yourself self-sabotaging the most? 

 

Part of recognizing these areas is learning when you need to be more careful and pay closer attention to your behavior. It can also help you zone in on where you need to concentrate your efforts. Is it fear holding you back and causing you to self-sabotage or is it something different?

 

Don’t give up

 

The most important advice we can give you for this endeavor is to not give up. It can be a grueling journey at times, but you can get through it. You just have to stay focused, keep your motivation up, and refuse to give up. Stick to it and stay the course; you’ll be glad you did.

 

Have you been guilty of self-sabotage? If you’re ready to make a change and stop sabotaging yourself, it’s time to assess yourself and take on the challenge of eliminating this behavior. We hope this article has helped you to work your way through your self-sabotaging behavior. Though the journey will be difficult and grueling, if you don’t give up on it, we promise it’ll be well worth it.

 

Believing In Yourself 101

Believing in yourself is a powerful, very powerful skill to harness and possess. It can get you further than you ever dreamed, helping to rid you of your fears and self-doubt and build up your self-confidence and self-esteem. 

 

In this article, we’ll cover the five most important steps to harness the power of believing in yourself so you can soar in your life.

 

1) Believe What You Want is Possible

 

Science used to tell us that we responded to information that came into our brain from the outside world, but we now know that that’s not really what’s happening. We respond to what our brain expects to happen next based on our previous life experiences. 

 

Your mind is a powerful, powerful thing. With the power of positive expectation, you can manifest what you want in life. Strive to always hold a positive expectation of what's going to happen.

 

The first step towards believing in yourself is believing that something good will come out of that. You have to believe that you hold the power to transform your life.

 

2) List Your Goals

 

In order to achieve your goals and get to your ideal life, you have to determine what it will take to get there and list out your goals. First, visualize what it is you want for your life, paying close attention to detail and being sure you know every component well. 

 

Next, you need to think hard about what it will take to get there. Determining this will help you determine what goals you need to reach. List them in the order you will need to complete them and be detailed with the steps you will need to take.

 

3) Visualize 

 

Visualizing your goals and what it will take to get there will help to keep you motivated in reaching them. Before you know it, you’ll be subconsciously taking huge steps towards making your ideal life a reality.

 

You’ll find yourself taking on more responsibility, being more direct, and taking more risks in both your professional and personal lives. The more you do this, the more you’ll get out of it and before long, you’ll find yourself well on your way to achieving your goals.

 

A great way to assist your visualization is to use a vision board. Much like practicing manifestation, vision boards help you to see and visualize what it is you want and where you want to go in life. A vision board is a graphic representation of what you want in life. Look at it every day while visualizing what you want and where you want to go.

 

4) Act As If You’ve Arrived

 

Ever heard the saying, “dress for the job you want, not the job you have?” Similarly, you need to act the part of the ideal life you want to live. Act as if you already have what you want and are already the kind of person you need to be.

 

Whatever actions you see as belonging to the person who is living your ideal life, start doing now! It works similarly to manifestation. The more you consciously ensure the behaviors and actions are a part of your daily life, the closer to ideal you’ll become.

 

5) Actively Work Towards Your Goals

 

Far too many people set goals, never work towards them, and wonder why they haven’t reached them yet. You will get nowhere by letting fear take hold and keep you from taking actions towards reaching your goals.

 

Take risks, put yourself out there, show your worth; take all the necessary steps to reach your goals and make your dreams a reality.

 

Finding Joy, Meaning And Prosperity In Your Work

We all want to be happy and successful in our lives. We want to work our dream job and feel meaningful and joyous doing it. The trick that most people don’t realize is that this won’t just happen. You have to work to find meaning, joy, and prosperity in the work you do each day. You have to keep the right perspective and keep yourself focused to truly achieve happiness and find meaning in the work you do each and every day.

 

In this article, we’re going to help guide you in finding those things in your job, rather than changing your job over and over again until you think that you’ve found them. We hope that these simple steps help you to find the meaning and joy you’re searching for in your work and achieve true prosperity.

 

Set Boundaries

 

Let’s start with finding joy in your work and keeping joy in your life. The first step to achieving that joy is setting healthy boundaries and maintaining them. You have to allow yourself time to have a break and recharge your brain. You have to keep your work life separate from your personal life. 

 

In order to keep this joy around, you have to set healthy boundaries and stick to them. You can’t let your work control your life. You also can’t let your personal life distract you from your work. If you want to succeed and achieve happiness through your work, set boundaries. This will help you to be truly prosperous from your work, as well.

 

List the Reasons Your Job Exists

 

A great way to find purpose and meaning in your job is to determine why it is your job is necessary. This will help you to determine the purpose of what you do and find meaning in your work. Finding meaning in your work is all about perspective.

 

Every job serves a purpose and has some meaning. Each and every job helps someone or something along the way and serves a role in helping the collective good. Listing the reasons for your work will help you to see and keep in mind the meaning in your job.

 

Shift Your Focus Away from Money

 

Your relationship with money can mess up your perspective on your career and life. If you make your big career and life decisions based on money, you’re not going to happy and you will find it difficult to find meaning and prosperity in your life.

 

Make your career and life decisions based on your joy, your goals, and the collective good. This will ensure that your career keeps providing you with joy, meaning, and prosperity. Don’t worry about how much money you will make or focus on what you’ll lose.

 

Why Bother?

 

You may think, it’s just a job, why bother ascribing any meaning to it at all? But that’s how people start to get burnout with their jobs and become apathetic. You need to find more than just a way to make money in your job. You need to find meaning and joy in what you do; otherwise, you’ll never be truly prosperous.

 

It may sound like extra work, but we promise, these efforts are far worth it. You need to find joy and meaning in your career and feel like what you’re doing serves a purpose. This is the only way to truly be prosperous and successful. You have to view your job as more than just a means to make money; keep your perspective focused on the purpose and meaning of what you’re doing.

 

Getting Everything You Want: Transcending Fear

Have you been feeling like there are roadblocks in your way keeping you from getting everything you want out of life?

 

Do you hold yourself back from seizing new opportunities or trying new things?

 

It’s time you stop letting your fear control your life. In this article, we’re going to help you transcend fear and start getting what you want in your life. Let’s dive in!

 

Fear Serves a Purpose

 

As annoying and detrimental as fear can be, it does serve a distinct and useful purpose in our lives. It alerts us to impending danger, helps to keep us from making mistakes, and helps to keep us safe. However, how you handle your fear makes all the difference.

 

Sometimes those fears are unfounded and actually hold you back from getting what you want. The trick is knowing when your fears are founded and when you should challenge them and transcend them.

Getting Past Your Fears

 

This sounds a whole lot easier than it actually is. Once you’ve determined which of your fears are founded and which you need to work on transcending, you’re ready to start working past them. Start by analyzing your fears.

 

Ask Yourself These Questions

 

1) Why are you afraid?

2) What specifically are you afraid of?

3) What’s the worst that can happen if you push past your fears?

 

Push Yourself - Keep These Things in Mind to Help Motivate You

 

1) You are capable of anything you set your mind to.

2) Stepping out of your comfort zone is good for you.

3) Challenging yourself improves you.

 

Sticking with it

 

Implementing these changes is hard enough, but sticking to transcending your fear can seem impossible on your own. You can’t let yourself backslide; you have to keep pushing past your fear. Here are some tips to help you stick with it!

 

Have a Fear-Busting Partner

 

Having someone to hold you accountable and keep you in check can be your most valuable asset when trying to transcend your fears. They’ll keep you from backsliding, hold you accountable, and challenge you when you need it. They also offer all the support you need to help you keep with your routine and not let your fears hold you back anymore.

 

Stop Making Excuses

 

Excuses are your fears’ best friends. They let you weasel out of what you’re afraid of doing without ever having to acknowledge the fear itself at all. Excuses are detrimental to your progress in transcending your fears. Stop making excuses for letting your fears get the better of you; admit you’re afraid to do it and do it anyway.

 

Acknowledge Your Progress

 

Positive reinforcement is known to be a very effective method of adjusting behaviors. Reward yourself for pushing past your fears, you deserve it! Every time you push past something and do better, reward yourself for it. Track your progress and reward yourself when you successfully transcend your fears, it will help the behavior stick around.

 

Why Bother?

 

Transcending your fears is an important step on your road to success. In order to get everything you’ve wanted out of life, you have to step out of your comfort zone and transcend your fears. It helps you to push past limits that only you have given yourself and achieve everything you’ve ever wanted. You’re the only thing holding you back, so stop letting fear control you! Transcend your fears and start getting what you want!

 

If you’ve been feeling like fear is a big roadblock in your life lately, maybe it’s time to make a change. We hope this article has helped to guide you down the right path to transcending your fears and achieving success. We wish you luck in this long and difficult journey; the rewards are more than worth the effort.