……I realised that I really created my own obstacles in life, and if I just got out of
way of myself and let my mind not hold me back, I could do things I never thought I could.” (Hilary Swank, as reported in Sunday Times)Hilary Swank puts her breathtaking performance in Million Dollar Baby down to way Clint Eastwood was able to get her to relax and stop her interfering with her natural ability to create such an awesome character.
What about you? How do you interfere with your natural ability. How do you stop yourself from progressing? What do you say to yourself that ensures you stay within a safe arena? In Hilary Swank’s words what is your “obstacle” to success in your life.
For most of us our obstacle is same as Hilary Swank’s. It is our mind. The way we were raised. The area we lived in. The schools we went to. The education we received or not as case may be. The first jobs we had. The people we idolised in our youth and in later life. All give us a way of being.
Think for a moment. What do you now do that can be traced back to your past. Have you ever said anything and a sibling or member of your family immediately responded “You sound just like……….”? If you have then you have just met an “obstacle” That thought was not a new thought. It is not even one of your thoughts. It is a response to a stimulus. It is a learned behaviour. A behaviour that isn’t yours it is someone else’s and you copied it. It is well and truly an “obstacle”
This is a small example but one that can be identified quickly. How many, other hidden behaviours do you have that are a carbon copy of someone else. All these “obstacles” ensure that you are ‘kept in your place’.
Have you ever thought to yourself;” I would like to do that” and quickly another thought enters your mind, “but I don’t think so”. The thought that comes says, “It is embarrassing” or “my (mother) wouldn’t like it”…or whatever your excuse is. It is this that Hilary Swank is talking about. Your mind is holding you back.
