What is holding you back from greatness? We all have that one situation in our lives that seems so insurmountable, that we feel bound to it by chains and every time you try to move forward it just yanks you back. This situation seems to be preventing you from being comfortable and happy.

Does this sound familiar?

We sometimes associate this situation with the reason we cannot be successful. Whether it is family problems, struggles with a spouse, a bad financial situation or issues finding/keeping a job, there is something right now that seems to be holding you back from being the person you want to be; from achieving greatness.  

We believe in our hearts that it is what it is and there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it. We have cuddled up with mediocrity and built our house in the mundane, convincing ourselves that things can never get better than they already are, and that’s just life. But that’s a lie and you know it. You’re lying to yourself and you need to stop it right now.

Living with intended purpose

I believe, every person on the face of planet Earth has a purpose or even multiple purposes that stretch over their lifespan. To me that evidence is overwhelming. As a science major and a previous high school science teacher, allow me to flex my muscles as I nerd out a bit about nature.

Nature gives us countless examples of ecosystems operating in tandem with each other, each organism serving specific purposes and contributing to the well-being of the environment.

Our cells are specialized to carry out specific functions from nerve cells firing when we get that first kiss or our skin cells helping to produce sweat on a hot day. Therefore, I hold the philosophy that just like single cellular organisms and animals in an ecosystem; each human has specific roles and functions that can help with the cohesiveness and progression of society. We founded BE Entertainment on the basis, that natural talents should be used and developed not buried in a hole.

Then by definition, individual greatness is simply living up to your intended purpose. It is to live in a way that maximises your potential and emphasises the aspects of your identity that you’re naturally inclined to.

Now, please…please don’t get me wrong. I’m not about to preach to you that ‘turn your hobbies into a business’ bullshit. There are elements of greatness that extend way past making money and there isn’t a rubric on how to be great or how to live a purpose-filled life. Each person has to figure out what greatness means to them and then actively work towards it.

This can be as simple as being a good mom, good boss or good friend. Or it could be career-based like being a doctor or an entrepreneur.

There is something you did, doing or thinking of doing that fills your entire being with joy. Whatever that is, there is where your greatness lies and there is nothing in the world that should stop you from doing it.

How limiting beliefs cripple us

Some time ago I was tutoring a student in chemistry (yes I still teach science from time to time). Over a few months of chatting with him about his schoolwork, I noticed something quite interesting. He is an intelligent young man, whatever I taught him he grasped quickly and was able to retain information without much revision. However, throughout his entire high school life he had been doing poorly in school, he hadn’t really been paying attention to his teachers and was just slacking off.

In the first couple of months of our tutoring sessions, he would struggle to complete past papers, get distracted by his phone and give up halfway through questions. One day I confronted him “I cannot understand why you’re so intelligent but you’re struggling so much,” he replied, “Miss, I just have no discipline.” I asked him where he got that idea from. He then explained to me that his family and teachers told him constantly that he had no discipline, so it must be true.

He had a limiting belief that he had no discipline so began to act as if he had no discipline. In the months preceding, I changed my method; I told him constantly that he was intelligent; I told him he had the power to prove everybody wrong and pass his exams. I told him that he could have discipline if he wanted to.

Over time his attitude towards his work changed. He started to call himself smart and congratulated himself whenever he got a question correct. He became enthusiastic about coming to class and was genuinely interested in learning.

 He told me “Miss, I’m going to mash up my exams.” And he did, well kinda, he got a 3 (a C) in chem. But a win is a win. He started to believe that he could pass his exams and his actions followed. He removed those limiting beliefs about himself and was able to accomplish his goals. If he continued to believe what people said about him he would’ve never been able to pass his exams. 

There are things that we tell ourselves that hinder our progression. Whether these are statements that we’ve been told by others or just lies that we tell ourselves in order to sabotage our success.

The Pygmalion Effect

The Pygmalion Effect is a concept theorized by Robert Rosenthal. In a nutshell, this phenomenon states higher expectations lead to improved performance in others. Therefore I would posit that the opposite can be true as well, if you expect someone to do poorly and treat them as if they would do poorly, they will perform poorly. And when they do, you say “Ah, you see my instincts were right.” In a sense, our words and actions can affect others.

The Pygmalion Effect has affected each of us in one way or the other. If you’re not careful you can internalize the negative perceptions others have about you, then it can become part of your identity. What others say about you, can cause you to develop these limiting beliefs. And like my student, you just give up because everyone expects failure from you anyway and you expect failure from yourself.

The fear of falling

Most times we hold ourselves back from reaching our full potential because we are afraid of failing. So we create excuses and lies such as:

• I’m too old
• I’m too young
• It’s too late for me
• I’m not educated enough
• I have no experience
• I have so much going on right now
• No one is going to listen to me (this one is personal)

You’re actively holding yourself back from greatness, from being the person you are supposed to be, either because of the lies told to you or the lies you tell yourself. What are some things you tell yourself on repeat, that deep down you know might not actually be true? Start by writing them down, you’d be amazed at what you discover about yourself.

To be who you must be, you can no longer hold on to who you were.

Niques Francois

I’m not going to sit here and tell you that becoming the person you want to be is going to be easy. In fact, it’s like pulling teeth. You’re going to fail; you’re going to make mistakes. But as you keep striving, each day becomes easier, you learn a little more and you become more content with your life.

Everyone has the potential to live purpose-filled lives and to do what they’re naturally good at. It isn’t too late to start. As my mother always says when she’s trying to convince me to have children, once there is life, there is hope.

Remember,

Tell Your Story.

Niques.