This is a continuation from my last blog post where I talk about how your strengths can hold you back and prevent you from truly achieving success.
A few weeks ago on my last trip to Japan, I was viscerally reminded of this important principle while working out with my Aikido master. I’m 20+ years younger than him, stronger, faster, bigger and the list goes on. Yet when I grabbed him, it was like trying to grab water — he flowed, relaxed, and moved effortlessly. Without his strength holding him back, he performed his Aikido technique and tossed me about like a rag-doll. It was magical to behold. And quite hilarious…
As a matter of fact, the more strength I used, the more tired I became. The more effort I exerted, the less successful I was.
So how does this translate to your business and personal life? Does it mean that you DON’T have to work hard to be successful or that you can “life-hack” and shortcut your way to success? Not at all.
For a lot of us, it requires a huge sacrifice — kicking our fears and ego to the curb to disrupt those weaknesses that are masquerading as “strengths”. And how do we get those fears and ego under control? Easy. You need inspiring support structures sufficient to ensure your success. You cannot succeed alone. Let me repeat that: You. Cannot. Succeed. By. Yourself.
There are two types of support structures — people and systems. Tony Robbins’ mentor, Jim Rohn, was fond of saying, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” So who are the five people you spend the most time with? And how can they help you overcome your fears, balance you ego, and help you see where your “strengths” are actually holding you back? If they can’t help you with this, does it mean they are bad people? Not at all. It means you need to find the right people (for you) that will be able to reflect back to you, viscerally, where your strength and efforts are no longer serving you in accomplishing your goals. What might have worked for you last year may not work for you now…
And what “systems” do you have in place to help you ensure you are able to clearly see where your strengths are preventing you from unlimited abundance? Systems can be anything (except people). For example, your office is a system. If you don’t like the environment of your office such as the lighting, location, or layout, you are going to exert more effort to produce the same or less results. Technology is also a system — do you use technology or does it use you? Are you constantly distracted by looking at you phone, email, or any other number of “smart” devices that populate our environment? If so, again, your fear and ego is going to force you to work harder with more effort producing less satisfying results because your “system” is off kilter.
Here are two simple action steps to complete to ensure you are setting up inspiring support systems to ensure your strengths are not holding you back:
Step 1: Write down the five people you spend the most time with and why.
Step 2: Remove wireless email from any and all of your mobile devices. Immediately.
Leave a comment below or Tweet me @mpveltri to tell me what you achieved by accomplishing those two steps. If you need any help or think you can’t live without checking your email every 18 seconds, let me know that also — I’ll be sure to reply back showing you how you can.
Photo credit: Vivienne Azarcon