Don’t Put a Ceiling on Yourself.

“The sky is the limit.”

You have goals.

You finally got that job you wanted? That degree you worked so hard for, finally in your hands?

Sweet, you can check that box off and sit back and relaxxxx, right?

Wrong.

So what should happen once you accomplish them?

To start, there’s never a good reason to put a ceiling on yourself. I mean you have so much more untapped potential.

This is what I’m thinking today and every day, seeing so many people making “best friends” with that cruise control switch.

Setting a ceiling on yourself only limits the potential of what you can actually achieve.

Why Should You Care?

There’s a beautiful saying,

“reach for the stars, but aim for the moon”

and this encompasses the concept perfectly.

If you’re aiming for something, even if you don’t achieve it, you’ll still be somewhere better than where you started.

Aiming for something BEYOND your ceiling will allow you to accomplish your goal and then some.

Not only should you never set a ceiling for yourself, but you should make sure that your floor is constantly moving upward.

That floor is the foundation of how you hold yourself and it is that floor that keeps you grounded to the progress you’ve already made.

It should prevent you from ever regressing.

The greatest threat isn’t that we can’t fly to the ceiling, it’s that we crash through the floor and hurt ourselves. As long as you’re moving forward in some capacity and your floor stays solid, you’re better off today than you were yesterday.

If the floor in your home was falling out, you wouldn’t be saying, “Eh, it’s only 15% of our home.” You’d be more like, “Crapppp! The floor is caving in!” In the same way, if you gained the ability to fly a little bit, you wouldn’t say, “Eh, I’m only 10 feet off the ground. Peter Pan flew much higher.” You’d be more like, “WOW! I’m FLYING!!!”

In other words, it’s very much win/lose and one/zero instead of a spectrum. You’re either moving forward or backward. Your floor should never be moving backward.

You’ll accomplish something much greater than you expected compared to if you just settled and accepted the end goal.

Imagine working your whole life just to make a million dollar company. Then one day you finally make that 1 mill, and you decide to kick back and relax the rest of your life. You just limited your business and yourself from making so much more money!

Why not build a multi-million dollar company?

Get it?

You’ll never reach the depths of your potential by limiting yourself.

Write that down somewhere.

Not only will you be limiting yourself, but others will as well.

If you’re not sure of your own idea or vision – closing your eyes and shooting for some arbitrary target – then how are others going to resonate with you? They won’t.

Your ambition will be jeopardized due to the mere fact that you don’t have any objective past your “set goal”.

Now yes, setting goals are extremely important for getting anywhere in life. (Written in this beautifully written essay here).

However, you must impose larger-scale goals for yourself that are seemingly “unreachable” for the simple reason that you’ll accomplish more than you think. Those will be your “big picture” goals.

Get it yet?

How Can You Accomplish This?

1. Believe in Yourself

Half the battle is finding the courage to pursue your dreams, and actually believing you can achieve them.

If you can’t wrap your head around that concept, then you will constantly be sabotaging yourself and getting in your own way.

Write those “out of reach” goals down. Look at them every morning. Then believe that you will accomplish them, no matter what.

Confidence plays a big role in becoming successful.

If you believe in yourself, then others will too.

2. Always Have Something to Work Towards

Always having something to work towards is obvious in the context of this essay, however setting smaller goals under that giant “big picture” goal will help you get there.

Start by writing a list of larger goals that fit under your “big picture” goal.

For example, your “big picture” goal may be to have one of the most successful businesses in America, but how are you going to get there? Set smaller goals that branch off of that “big picture” – i.e. marketing, branding, audience building, etc.

Then, keep branching off until you have smaller and smaller goals that can be accomplished step-by-step.

I break this concept down further in my thread below:

By constantly setting goals and prioritizing them for yourself, you’ll always be progressing forward, no matter what it is you're working towards.

3. Develop Some Determination

Your determination will create your possibilities. So if you keep thinking you can't do something, chances are you won't.

If you instead let yourself and others know you will do something, you are much more likely to do it.

Stay determined by letting yourself know that you can do it.

Write it down on a list, or say it to yourself in front of a mirror.

Let yourself AND others know what you want, and never smother your potential by putting a ceiling on yourself.

Speak and think to yourself with love, compassion, and belief. You are the only one that’s gonna get you through that ceiling because others will always doubt you.

4. Forget the Pressure and Just Try

Anything that inhibits your ability or desire to take action is BAD, even if it is well-intentioned (i.e. wanting to change your life quickly, motivation-driven living, etc.)

Any perspective or strategy that gets you to try is GOOD, even if it sounds ridiculous or counterintuitive (i.e. have zero-to-no expectations and willingness to try).

Let go of the connotation that everyone is watching every move you make in life and that there’s this immense pressure to impress everyone of your social status.

Enjoy the journey of working towards your goal, but always reach for something that seems ridiculous.

If it makes you feel nervous, then it’s something worth working towards.

You’ll achieve much more than you think when the pressure is gone and you’re working towards something you’re truly passionate about.

In the end…

Putting a ceiling on yourself will never prove to be beneficial. The only thing it does is limit you from your potential.

Constantly moving that goal post, and always having a “big picture” mission to work towards will allow you to achieve more than you ever thought possible.

That ceiling is a barrier, and breaking that barrier is the first step to achieving your dreams and then some.

TL;DR

1. Putting a ceiling for yourself limits you from achieving greatness.
2. Aiming for something BEYOND your ceiling will allow you to accomplish your goal and then some.
3. Believe that you can do it and that confidence will propel you past your self-perceived abilities.

Goodluck & #KEEPPLUGGIN

🙇🏻‍♂️🌱 Until Next Time, C.