After about 20 years with a loyal clientele, the gym was closing. Many of the members decided to join another gym that was approximately 2-3 miles away. One constituent, however, resolutely refused to join the rest because she did not want to drive the extra mileage. On the final days, this member was disconsolate and in tears over the closing and the loss of relationships. To be sure, she was perfectly within her right to make the decision not to travel the extra distance to the new gym; but let's be equally clear that she was restricted by the barrier that she created.
Each of us do this daily. We decide we won't frequent a specific store ever again, or that we absolutely will not eat a certain kind of food or that we refuse to socialize with a specific person. We are living within the barriers that we create.
Certainly there is a full range of barriers. Some of the barriers we create are designed to keep us safe, others are designed to keep us healthy. . .but on the other side of the spectrum, we may be holding ourselves back from that which we truly want to do because we've created walls that disable us from achieving that which we really want.
"What is it that I really want to do?" We should ask ourselves this question often.
"Have I created barriers that disable me from doing that which I really want do to?" That is the follow-up question, that if answered with introspection, honesty and courage will provide us with enabling answers.
Of the forces in life that hold us back, there are many that are beyond our control. Many, however, are either owned by us or can be owned by us (we cannot change what we do not own). To live a fulfilled life, we need to sweep away those barriers which do not serve us.
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My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
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