Create space for growth
When I tried to disentangle a growing mango plant from a the grips of a tiny climber, I was amazed at how the fragile climber could bind the leaves and stunt the plant’s growth. Our self-limiting beliefs can stunt our growth just like these weeds. Some catch us when we are young and eventually grow over us. Over a period of time, they camouflage into our strongest identities. By working on our self-limiting beliefs,
(1) We create space for our growth.
(2) We realize we are not our beliefs and we are much beyond that.
“To live under constraint is a misfortune, but there is no constraint to live under constraint.” – Seneca
Allow to compound what we value
Three hundred rupees notes lay hidden away in a old stack of files. It was my prize money I earned for paper presentation two decades ago. The prize money which was then valuable had lost all its value in my effort to keep it ‘safe’. It made me reflect on how my strengths would have been wasted away because they are too precious to be used. Life gives us many resources which we are too afraid to use for the fear of spending it away. Time can work its magic of compounding only on those things that are deployed well.
‘Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it; he who doesn’t, pays it’ – A quote attributed to Albert Einstein
Focus on what has gone right
When we pay attention to something it grows. However, our attention goes in all directions, and we spend more time analyzing what went wrong. Instead, choose to highlight the good and repeat it. Two things will happen
(1) We become spontaneous in spotting the right things
(2) We now have more evidence of what works than before
‘Whatever you put your attention on will grow stronger in your life. Whatever you take your attention away from will wither, disintegrate, and disappear.’ – Deepak Chopra