One of the best self-improvement lessons that I have learned in the past decade is understanding that I (and probably you too) have an upper limit problem that causes self-sabotage. Let me explain.
Have you ever been feeling really happy or excited about something like a job promotion or a new idea that just popped into your mind or even a five dollar bill you found randomly in your back pocket, only to suddenly find yourself (moments later) experiencing a series of unpleasant thoughts that quickly sucked all the joy out of your situation?
We’ve all had this happen, but until recently, I had no clue why it was happening or how to tackle this problem.
Then, I read a book called The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks. In the book, the author defines what he calls the Upper Limit.
The Upper Limit is this unseen threshold that we hit when we start thinking that things are going “too good to be true”. Your Upper Limit is the point at which your mind decides, “okay, that’s enough positive energy for the day…you can’t possibly be this happy.”
When we hit the upper limit, we begin manifesting thoughts and ideas that make us feel bad for feeling good. We commence in behaviors that completely halt our positive trajectories.
For most of us, it’s a behavior that has been around since we were children–a behavior that we learned because of our environments and the people we were around.
The good news is that it can be reversed. Once we become aware of our upper limit, we can fight against…push through it.
How to Push Through Your Upper Limit
Being happy and positive for extended periods of time without self-sabotaging is possible, but you have to want it. Furthermore, YOU HAVE TO ALLOW IT.
Answer these questions:
- Can you allow yourself to eliminate those behaviors that stop the flow of your positive energy?
- Can you allow yourself to learn how to feel great all the time?
- Can you allow things to go well in your life all the time?
- Are you willing to increase the amount of time every day that you feel good inside?
Try answering these questions as affirmations–I allow myself to feel great all the time. I allow myself to let things go well in my life.
Start working on eliminating your upper limit and allow yourself to flourish! I highly recommend reading The Big Leap. It’s a book that has changed my life.
Sending positive vibes your way.