SO WHAT’S STOPPING YOU

By Jeff Withers
In the previous article we posed the question of how a performer can control the direction and intensity of their focus. Effectively unitising visualisation techniques is certainly a good starting point. However, just as a dream is a “pleasant run through” of a desired outcome, similarly, visualising can create an enjoyable experience of what it is you wish to achieve … but is it enough. Yes, it is a good stating point, and certainly gives you direction, but if you haven’t got a strong belief in the possibility of this experience being achieved, then you’ve probably gone as far as you can.
Let’s look at the steps you could take towards giving yourself the best opportunity for achieving success.
As a starting point:
Sift through your future plans, selecting say one major ambition you have in place for yourself eg reaching a specific level of expertise, showing confidence at the right moment and so on. Try to limit yourself to just one ambition at a time. You can repeat the following as many times as necessary, though it is more effective if each is given the appropriate attention to ensure a “fair chance” of success.
Ask yourself “what is it I actually want here” – not having a clear understanding of what it is that you actually want is not useful in empowering yourself towards achieving the desired result. Keep asking yourself the question until you get an answer you are happy with.
Ask yourself what you believe is preventing you from attaining your identified ambition. This will intrigue you as you will no doubt get a mixture of responses that reflect your:
doubts – is this really what I want
limiting beliefs – I can’t do this because
conditions – I might be able to achieve this only if I give “x” up
resources – I can achieve this, but only if I had “x”.
Meet your doubts “head on”. In a quiet place visualise achieving your ambition. Perhaps you could run it as a movie. Ask yourself to see, hear, smell and feel it as if it has already happened. Adjust the experience (intensify, modify and so on) until you no longer doubt your ability to realise your ambition.
Some beliefs you may have can hold you back and can arise from within yourself just as much as from others (even if well-intentioned). If you can identify a belief that is holding you back, treat it as if it was a person and ask it what its intentions are. Quite often such a belief reflects an unconscious desire to keep you safe, so your task is to find a way to combine this belief with your intention to achieve – a common bond so to speak – to create an even stronger driving force.
Of course, if you have beliefs that are hard to identify, or appear quite self-destructive, “stay tuned” – we will, in upcoming articles, be addressing this very important issue in greater depth, along with ways you can replace negative with positive beliefs.
Often people hesitate to move forward towards growth, fearing they may lose something valuable in the process. So, as a suggestion, when working on the process determine what you would like to keep from the present situation – ie in moving forward what positive aspects would you like to take with you. In so doing, attaining your ambition becomes more real and less threatening. At the same time, if you discover you need new resources to aid your progress look to keeping what works for you in conjunction with discovering new resources.
The age old story – don’t bite off more than you can chew. Put simply, move forward at a pace that works for you – too slow and you will possibly lose interest, too fast and you may disengage for fear of being overwhelmed. In any case, the best rule of thumb is to challenge yourself sufficiently to allow progress.
Interestingly, at this point you may find the original ambition is not what you have now. In other words, the steps to this point have led you to assess and re-assess not just the ambition, but how you focus on a range of things, your beliefs, your relationships with others, even how you manage your day to day life.
This is a good thing – you are growing as a person, not just realising a dream.
You’ve arrived
Last but not least – it’s OK to be uncomfortable with change, to feel unsure of where you are heading. If you are not experiencing such emotions, chances are you are not serious about growing as a performer or even as a person. Who knows where you may end up, and isn’t it a bit of “good fun” and even an adventure to start a journey and see where it leads you.
So, what next … ambition number two of course …back at the start…
Enjoy the power of controlling your “vision”.
Contact Jeff Email jeff@redriverjourney.com.au Web: www.redriverjourney.com.au