You’re being lied to. Constantly. Sometimes by yourself. We are all subject to an endless stream of misinformation about our constraints to our capabilities, and we receive this information so often that most of us have no other choice but to believe it. The problem is that these messages directly oppose your quest to become limitless.
According to Jim Kwik, there are 7 Limited Ideas Entertained (LIEs) in our minds that can stall us or steer us in a direction we don’t want. In the following posts, we will examine these LIEs, demystify the myths behind them and expose ourselves to the truth we should rather believe.
The Criticism Of Other People Matters
A quote by Jim Carrey goes, “The biggest travesty in the world is people preventing and limiting themselves from expressing who they really are because they’re afraid of what other people think.”
Jim Kwik believes that the fastest learners on the planet are children, partly because they do not care what others think of them. They have no shame in failing. They will fall 300 times and get up 300 times in the course of learning to walk, and won’t feel embarrassed; they just know they want to walk.
As we get older, we have a harder time staying this open. We might take a singing lesson, or maybe a coding class, and if we hit a flat note or make a mistake as we learn, we shrink or stop.
Part of being limitless is learning to let go of the fear of criticism from other people.
Jim uses the story of the Wright brothers to debunk this myth.
The Wright brothers accomplished their incredible feat of making a machine fly through the air —and initially received virtually no acclaim for it.
When they returned home from their inaugural flight on December 17, 1903, they were not met with brass bands and cigars and streamers. They were met with doubt. Their biographer, Fred Kelly, wrote that the neighbours had a hard time believing what had happened. The papers and media also didn’t report on their accomplishment.
According to Kelly, noted scientists of the time had already explained why man couldn’t fly, so no newspaper reporter was willing to report on the story for fear of being humiliated.
No editor wanted to print a story that directly refuted a respected scientist’s proclamations that flying was not scientifically possible but the lack of public recognition didn’t faze the Wright brothers.
They knew they had more work to do and set about perfecting their flying machine, which eventually did earn the recognition that it deserved.
Most of us fear the opinions of other people when we simply think about trying something new. What the Wright’s story shows is that public imagination is woefully underwhelming, and people have a hard time reconciling what they believe is possible with what is actually happening. The criticisms of other people does not matter.
Here’s the truth: Creating the life you want can be scary. But you know what’s scarier? Regret.
One day we will take our final breaths and not one of other people’s opinions or your fears will matter. What will matter is how we lived.
Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from. People will doubt you and criticize you no matter what you do. You will never know your true potential until you break the unfair judgements you place on yourself. Don’t allow other people’s opinions and expectations to ruin your life. Explore and do the things you wish to do.
New belief: It’s not your job to like, love, or respect me. It’s mine.
