While you are going through a difficult time, your obstacles may seem too big to overcome. It is very easy to get lost when you face challenging situations, because we naturally tend to focus on those challenges, constantly thinking about the problem and how bad things are. And, often this is the biggest enemy for our aspiration.
These are 3 key action steps that made a tremendous impact in my personal journey when going through tough times. By having a laser-sharp focus and implementing these three things I had a breakthrough every time; even at times when my life was on the verge of breaking down.
Although obstacles or problems want to capture your full attention, make every effort not to lose sight of your goal, your vision of what you are striving for. Instead of thinking about how hard it is, how painful and how bad everything is, lift your eyes up, look at the horizon of your vision.
By faith see in your mind what you strive for. Envision what change will come in your business and your life. How will this affect the life of your loved ones? How many good changes will come when you accomplish this? How will you feel when you overcome all difficulties and achieve your goal?
2. And then, return your sight back to the present day, but not for you to think about the problem itself, but about how to solve it. Look for new opportunities; look for a way out of this difficult situation. Find the solution to the problem, figure out how you could overcome the obstacle.
3. When you find a solution to a problem, focus on what you have to do to remove the problem from your path. Maintain your laser-sharp focus (!!) on the vision and the solution no matter how big the problem is. Do not allow yourself to drown in thoughts about the problem and how difficult and painful it is (!!).
Once the problem is out of the way, keep moving forward towards that goal. Take massive action, work hard, and do everything possible (and even what you once thought was beyond what you could do) to achieve the goal.
Achieving a goal has a price tag of persistence and relentless effort, and only those who are willing to pay that price achieve success.
Obstacles are not equal to a ‘STOP’ sign, but they are simply something you need to overcome, that’s all. Obstacles can get in the way, interfere, and slow you down, but they can’t stop you. The only thing that can stop you is yourself.
In my last post, I talked about how our beliefs have a
tremendous impact in our lives. So many
people hold limiting beliefs of what they’re capable of and what’s possible, which
robs people of their full potential and the lives that they could live. I shared
my personal experience of how changing my limiting beliefs and my way of
thinking empowered me tremendously to transform my life after losing both of my
legs and the function of my left arm.
When I began mastering my beliefs and my way of thinking, the restoration of my independence and my life has taken to a whole new level. Through the experience, I have learned that as long as you are convinced that you cannot do something, or that something is impossible, it really is true. But it remains true only as long as you hold on to that belief.
In this post, I want to continue: How to Change the Beliefs That Limit Us? How can we do that which we thought we couldn’t do?
What is a belief? A belief is nothing but what we consider to be true, what we feel certain about.
For the most part, beliefs are unconscious, and they come
from the culture where we grew up, the philosophy of life, faith / spiritual
beliefs, our life experiences or the opinions and experiences of those whom we
trust and respect.
Essentially, beliefs are only assumptions we make about
ourselves and others, about our circumstances and our destiny, about success
and failure, and, other aspects of life. But are our beliefs really true? Unfortunately,
the beliefs that we hold may be absolutely not true and they can jeopardize us.
How can I change my beliefs?
When you think you aren’t able to do something, answer to yourself:
How can you absolutely know that to be true? According to whom you are not capable of it?
Has there ever been a time when you thought you couldn’t do something and then it turned out it has not been the case?
What evidence do you have today which is the opposite of what you believe in?
If you would try to do what you thought you could not do, where would you begin?
2. When you face a situation that seems very difficult to resolve, something is impossible, instead of considering how big is the problem consider how mighty your God is.
Usually, when we encounter a problem, we first analyze what is happening, how difficult and how bad everything is, and we check if we can resolve it. And If the problem is beyond our ability to resolve it or it is out of our control we turn to God asking for His help.
BUT if we focus on how big the problem is and build our expectation of the result after the prayer based on our own understanding and viewpoint of what is possible, then it is hard to believe that we will receive help from the Lord after the prayer. “Well… I hope, but this problem is so big, I just can’t see how this can be resolved; I am too weak/too old/not educated/not capable and I don’t know if I can receive a job; he/she are way too stubborn and never going to change,” does it sound familiar?
And then doubt comes, fear and unbelief (and then we get the answer according to our faith). But this is a belief that is based on our assumptions, on our understanding, and not on the word of God. It is faith in our faith, not faith in God.
To me, one of the most prominent examples of what faith is – Abraham and Sarah.
Romans 4:18-22 says that Abraham, even though it seemed hopeless, he still in hope believed. It’s amazing that He did not even consider the realistic factors (that his body and Sarah’s body were way too old to give birth to a child and physically it was simply impossible). Abraham did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God and being fully convinced that what God has promised He was also able to perform. Sarah – accepted strength to conceive and gave birth to a child because she judged Him faithful who had promised (Hebrews 11:11)
Few details got my attention:
For Abraham and Sarah it was a decision to believe God. It’s a conscious decision.
They built their faith not based on whether it was realistic or believable to them what God has promised but based on WHO GOD IS – God is MIGHTY AND ABLE to do it and He is FAITHFUL to His word.
I personally experienced incredible evidence of the power of faith when I trusted God in hopeless situations and expected an answer, even if it was simply unrealistic to get the answer I wanted. So many times I was advised to think realistically and adapt to circumstances, but I did not want to live as circumstances allowed me. But there was no way to change these circumstances.
And I, feeling complete despair, decided to have a child-like faith that God is the one who is able to change my circumstances. I decided to rise above the realistic thinking and to believe that everything was possible for the Lord, because He created the Universe, and so He is able to change any circumstances. Every day in my prayer I continued telling Him that I knew He is able to do the impossible, and that I trusted Him. I was convinced of this and in hope expected for the answer.
And, you know, the Lord really did the impossible every time. No matter how unrealistic it was to fix those situations, change circumstances and get out of hopelessness, every time I witnessed inexplicable changes in my circumstances. I saw how circumstances changed in an absolutely incredible way, and I just cannot explain it in any logical way, except to tell you: “It was God’s miracle.”
Break your limiting beliefs by deciding to have faith, based not on your understanding of what’s possible, not on what you think how ‘realistic it is’, but having faith in God based on Who God Is and what He says in His Word – HE IS ABLE and HE IS FAITHFUL TO HIS WORD. No matter what in actuality is going on, you stand on God’s word and proclaim it. You proclaim your faith not based on what you see or what you think is possible, but based on what the word of God says.
3. While holding on to the belief that you can do all things with God and all things are possible with Him, shift your focus from dwelling on how complicated your situation is to seeking for a solution.
Our mind is like a computer – it will give the answer according to our command, which is it will give the answers to the questions we ask ourselves. So it’s critical to ask yourself the question that will lead you to the solution:
Where is the solution to this?
What would you advise your best friend to do if they were in your situation?
If you could do anything, what would you do to fix and improve this situation?
If you could do one thing to resolve this situation, what would that be?
How could you make it happen, what are the ways?
And then, while holding on to your belief that it is possible and you will have a victory, focus on what you need to do to improve your situation and take action.
Blessings in your journey and until next time! ~ Inga
P.s. I share my personal experience of my life’s transformation in my book “UNSTOPPABLE. It’s a Choice”. Grab your copy to be inspired and empowered to be unstoppable in your pursuits.
Many people are not disabled physically, but I see how many of them disable themselves by living in the limiting beliefs of what’s possible, and what they’re capable of. 19 years ago, while I was in a recovery process after the life-altering car accident, I realized one thing that totally transformed the way I began seeing my physical limitations and, and that was the beginning of claiming back my independence and life’s recovery. I want to pass it on to you, so you too, could take a deep breath and spread your wings to the life that you meant to live.
When I fully realized that I no longer had my legs and my left arm was paralyzed with no chance to recover, I was devastated beyond my ability to describe it. It was pure unspeakable anguish and hopelessness. I just couldn’t see how I would be able to live without legs and only one arm. I had many questions about how I was going to take care of myself on a daily basis and live fully. There was one answer – I can’t do it anymore. My mom was helping me to get up, dress up, make a meal and basically, she had to help with everything. I can’t even describe how much I hated to be dependent on another person! But it seemed like this would be my reality for the rest of my life. There was no other way.
Six months after the crash, my mom and I stayed in the Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center to obtain artificial legs for me. I was told that it was impossible for me to walk due to my complicated physical condition. But I believed I would. In fact, I was confident without a doubt that I would. To the astonishment of those who considered it to be impossible I did walk, indeed. One day, as I was resting after my training, I suddenly realized, “Wait a minute. Why am I still asking mom to help me get up? It’s ridiculous – I can do such a difficult thing like walking with prostheses, but I still have my mom helping me with simple daily activities!”
See, in my mind (as well as my mom’s), there was a mindset that without legs and only one arm I was no longer able to do things, so I had to be helped. Now that I had achieved something that professional specialists stated to be impossible, there was a big question mark in my mind about what I was really capable of. Suddenly I realized that my limitations were only in my mind, in my beliefs. I was fully aware that I could do much more than what it seemed at first and I decided to push my limits. That day I declared my independence stating, “Yes, I can do it. I will figure out how to do everything on my own and will become fully self-sufficient.”
From then on, I started looking for ways to do everything on my own. First of all, the goal was to find a way to sit up by myself from a lying position, and with the help of a physical therapist, we found a way. I began figuring out ways of dressing up independently and performing various daily activities by myself. I didn’t allow myself to think whether I could or could not. My new mindset was – I can without a doubt, I only need to find a way how to do it. Instead of saying to myself, “I am disabled and I can’t do this anymore,” I would say, “Yes, I can and I will find a way to do this.” I began changing how I speak by eliminating phrases – “I can’t” or “IF I can”. I began refusing to receive any help from my mom (which was not easy for her to accept J ), and I gave myself no other option but to get it done without any help. When I needed to do something with one hand, holding on to the belief – I can and I will – I asked myself, “HOW can I do this? What is the way? What possible options are there to resolve this?” As simple as it seems, this is the key to how I am able to do things independently. Changing my mindset and asking myself the right questions are the keys to how I managed many of my difficulties in life and overcame all obstacles.
As I look back, changing my way of thinking was one of my biggest breakthroughs which empowered me tremendously and opened the doors to new opportunities.
Since that time, when my limiting beliefs of what I could do and what I thought was possible was replaced by new beliefs, and I began mastering my way of thinking, the restoration of my independence and my life has taken to a whole new level. A few years later, I traveled by myself from Lithuania to the United States to pursue my dream. Now it’s been 14 years that I live across the globe from my family, fully independently (I can take care of all my personal needs, take care of the household matters, laundry, shopping, cooking, going to work, etc.) My physical limitations are still the same BUT BREAKING LIMITATIONS IN MY MIND, IN MY BELIEFS totally transformed what I was able to achieve, and ultimately directed my destiny in a way that is beyond I could ever even dream of.
And what about you? I urge you to look inside yourself and test your deep beliefs. What do you believe and what are you convinced about that it may not be true at all, and this only stops you from trying, from achieving what your heart desires? What belief is holding you back from fulfilling your purpose? As long as you are convinced that something is impossible or that things will not work out for you, it really will be true. But this remains true only as long as you hold on to this belief.
Break through the beliefs that keep you locked in a cage. Do not allow your limiting beliefs to steal the life from you that you are called to live. In your life, there is much more that you can do, fulfill and enjoy!
How to change your beliefs and to do what you thought you couldn’t do? I will share in the next post. Blessings to you, until next time!
UNSTOPPABLE 