TPP 37: How to Start Before You’re Ready (Getting “Unstuck”)

There are various decisions to make in life and it can be hard to get started. I have people reaching out to me all the time regarding these big decisions. It may be buying a house, investing vs paying off debt, selling a house, or any other big decision you may be facing right now. I am here to help you get unstuck and ready to make that decision by tackling your limiting beliefs. Start by starting now.

What are Limiting Beliefs?

Limiting beliefs are what’s keeping you from making your decisions. Let’s break it down. First, we have limiting, which is preventing you from accomplishing everything you can or want to accomplish. Then we have a belief. This is just a thought you have told yourself so many times that it feels like a fact. A limiting belief is something that you have told yourself so many times that it seems like an insurmountable obstacle that is preventing you from finding the success you want or making that decision that you are having a hard time with. We are going to dive into the most common limiting beliefs I come across when people are looking to create their ideal life. 

Limiting Belief #1: I don’t know how to…

The first limiting belief is something I come across all the time, and I also catch myself doing it too! I catch myself pretty quickly now, but it is something that I work harder and harder not to do. This limiting belief is the belief of “I don’t know how to.” This can be that you don’t know how to start a business, you don’t know how to get rid of imposter syndrome, you don’t know how to get rid of burnout…and the list goes on and on. Every time you say “I don’t know” you are sapping yourself of your best resource…your brain! 

You say, “I don’t know how,” and your brain just says okay, then let’s think about other things. You are a physician! You do hard things in difficult circumstances all the time, so you can do this. Medicine is harder than money…harder than creating an online business…harder than pretty much anything else, right? It isn’t the fact that you don’t know how that holds you back! It is just all new and something you haven’t experienced yet. This may be the most common reason people say they are stuck, but you can look up how to do anything on the internet. It is only a story you are telling yourself because you don’t have clarity on what you really want, and THAT is why you are stuck! It isn’t that you don’t know how to do it. 

Once you get clear on what you want and why you want it, the how to get there is the easy part. You may find that to get from point A to point B, you will have to do thirteen things and get worried that you can’t do it, but if you stop looking at them as obstacles and look at them as learning opportunities, each of these things become a learning opportunity. Instead of letting “I don’t know” get in your way, flip the script, and start thinking “Okay, I am learning how to…”

Limiting Belief #2: What if I Get it Wrong?

This second limiting belief is very physician centric. It is just the way we tick and the way we think. “What if I get it wrong?” We use this when coaching our clients. Every client gets to answer any questions they ask. If they say, “What I’m thinking is…” and then ask a question, they get to answer it! What is the worst-case scenario if you get it wrong? The underlying belief usually has something to do with one of a couple of things…not wanting to fail or the need to get it right. 

This is really powerful in medicine because it implies that some things are right while other things are wrong. Doctors definitely get hit hard with this because we tend to be perfectionists. We don’t like to get things wrong. When we paint a decision this way, it seems impossible to solve and that is an all or nothing thought fallacy or a thought distortion. When it comes to most life decisions, this limiting belief can paralyze you because you have thought that one decision is right while the other is wrong. What if both choices are acceptable and reasonable? What if neither is right or wrong? What if you can choose to deal with the worst-case scenario regardless of what you choose? If you can get to that place, it is a beautiful place to be!

Limiting Belief #3: I Need to Have it all Figured Out Before I Start.

There is a reason that the tagline for this podcast includes “start before you’re ready.” Most people have the limiting belief that you need to have everything figured out before you are ready to be ready to start! When you were a baby thinking about walking, you never thought “I’ve never done it so I’m just not going to do it.” It is the same with all of life’s decisions. You don’t always need all the answers to get started, but you can be successful if you learn how to work through the tripping and falling down…as long as you get back up. You just need to get the momentum, get the inertia, and get the ball rolling. Get dirty and be prepared to trip and fall and learn from it every time you do. 

Flip the Script- Defeat Limiting Beliefs

First thing’s first…figure out what your limiting beliefs are. What is holding you back? I have something special for you…how to start before you’re ready. It is the secret sauce of limiting beliefs. If you are feeling trapped and want to find personal and financial freedom, the alpha coaching experience will help get you there. When you sort out those limiting beliefs, you can get started into action. Once you realize that the only thing stopping you from starting is your beliefs, you realize that these beliefs are an option that you can choose to see differently.

Stop telling yourself you are stuck because you don’t know how, you might get it wrong, or you don’t have all the details ready. Start by starting now and change your perspective of your limiting beliefs. 

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