Seven of the Biggest Human Potential’s Blocks and How to Not Be Limited by Them

In life, there is a lot of things that can prevent us from being at our most aligned and powerful version of ourselves. It would be impossible to list them all, but in this blog, I will go through 7 of the biggest one and how reframing, changing perspective and acting upon it can change everything.

1-Meaning and Label

‘’nothing is wrong, only the label that you put on something can make it ‘’wrong’’ ‘’

We are so used to judging everything around us as a way to protect, predict and make sure that we are doing the ‘’right’’ things, but judgments (like good, wrong, bad, evil, right, wrong, etc) are limiting us. Let me give you an example: Let’s say you are an athlete and before your performance you are anxious, you might react like this: Shiiiitttt, I feel so stressed, it is bad, I need to relax, what if it means I am not prepared, my performance will be bad… Okay let’s do affirmation: I am good, I am good, I am good, I am good…

But what if you don’t label anything and you stop judging what Is happening as something wrong? What if you just react like this: Oh, I feel tense in my body, my body is shaking. Interesting, I think I am having anxiety. Well hello Anxiety ! It is okay, you are allowed to be there, I know I am ready, you are not wrong you're just showing me that I care and that I want to perform, thanks!

Same scenario and same emotion, the only difference is the judgment you put on what you are experiencing, seeing thinking.

Anxiety is not bad, it is just a sensation.

Anger is not bad, it is just an emotion.

Making an error is not bad and does not mean that you are a bad athlete, it just means that you’ve made and error. It is done, but only the judgment and the meaning can stay.

And on and on...

Quick tip : When you notice yourself judging something as good or bad and you notice it, start by acknowledging yourself for the awareness. Then, ask yourself, is it true? What if I don’t know?

After this, you chose differently, I chose to see anxiety as a sensation that means nothing about me.

2-Assuming and expecting

‘’Suffering exists only in a world where ‘’this should not be like this’’. ‘’

It is easy in the world of human potential and performance. It is easy to think that expecting and assuming can be a good way to prepare for something, but there is a difference between KNOWING and EXPECTING. Knowing refers to a truth that cannot be denied by anybody else other than you ( I am prepared, I am loving, I did everything I can, etc). Expecting comes from a place of lack of trust where you think you know something you don’t control at 100%. When we think about expectation it is clear that we all know that assuming or having ‘’negative’’ expectations will lower human potential. But, what about ‘’positive’’ expectations like expecting to score 2 goals today? It is less obvious, but what if you expect to win 10 000$ at the lottery, but (because our mind creates our reality) this becomes a cap that blocks life from giving you 100 000$? Or what if you assume that you will meet a girl at the bar and you expect it so much to be at the bar that you stay there so long that you miss a girl that was at the little cafe outside the bar that all of your friends wanted to go to. It might look whoo-whoo, but really assuming and expecting can block the flow of possibility while also opening the possibility of suffering if something does not happen like you think it should, therefore creating suffering. I don’t think that suffering in lack is the greatest space to tap into your potential.

Quick tip : release expectations, be open to possibilities and focus on the inner knowing of who you are, how you prepare, how you show up, etc. When facing expectations, come back to a place of curiosity. What if it does not happen like that, can I still be at peace and show up in a powerful way? What if my expectations are much lower than what I can create?

3-Resisting instead of allowing and flowing

‘’When you accept things as they are, you open the possibility of using the things for you instead of against you. "

Why would I accept this (thinking about not nice things that can happen). Well, let me ask you why not? Why do we think that there are things to accept and others to resist? Because we think some things are not supposed to happen, we block the possibility of using them for our greater good. Everything serves a purpose in your life whether you know it or not. But to find how to get the most out of every situation, you need to accept the fact that you first need to accept it and that it is happening FOR you, not TO you. You think that you are not supposed to get injured or sick, or you think that this person is supposed to love you or you should not be rejected from this job opportunity. But what if this is serving you? Again, everything is mental, so you have the power to change your mind. When you change your mindset about something instead of trying to fix the situation, you go from a victim to an empowered human being. You get to choose, you can swim with the current or you can fight the current, there is no good or wrong, but there is one that will bring you somewhere while the other one keeps you stuck and is stealing your energy…

Quick tip : Instead of thinking: ‘’ How can I fix this, how can I change this, this should not happen, I won’t be able to do X because Y happened, etc ‘’ try to change your mindset: If I was to accept this as a gift instead of a curse, what blessing is there for me? What can I learn from this? How can I use this? When these situations are done, who do I want to be? What story do I want to tell about how I ‘’deal’’ with this when it is all done?

4-Acting to ‘’not loose’’ instead of acting to ‘’win’’

‘’Nothing is wrong, it just depend on the state you are in when you act ‘’

Working very hard can be something that makes you succeed but it can also be something that is ‘’destroying’’ you slowly.

Playing defensive can be the ‘’right’’ choice, but it can also be what diminishes your performance.

Doing the diet can be restrictive or it can help you achieve your vision.

What I mean is that no matter what you do, does it come from a place of love, or from a place of fear? In life, without realizing it, we spend a lot of time avoiding pain and failure… This is due to how our brain is rewired for us to survive. But if you are reading those lines, I would assert that you are not in a state of survival and if you do, leave this post and do what you gotta do! My question to the other is: Do you act by fear? Are you working very very hard because you are committed to your vision and in love with what you do or because you are afraid that If you don’t you will be a failure? Are you playing defensive because you fear that by trying to go offense you will make an error and your team will fail or do you play defense because it is the best strategy suited for the needs of the team in the NOW, are you doing the diet because you have judgment on how you look and you do it by fear of never being loved by a man or because you are just committed to how you look and for you, you love to show up as your best self? LOVE or FEAR? It cannot be both but you can have different motives at the same time. The goal is to get the most out of love and to let go of the fear keeping you in a state of fight or flight.

Quick tip : When you notice you do something by fear, inquire about the fear, inquire what it means about you if you fail and afterward, challenge the meaning that will come out by asking questions like the ‘’ Is it true? ‘’. Then afterward, reposition yourself and ask yourself what you LOVE to do, and what is the most aligned, loving thing that you need to do in that situation. By doing so, you will go from reaction to creation.

5-Trying to control what you cannot

‘’Let life take care of life, let people take care of themselves, let go the fear of the consequence and focus on what you can control.’’

It can sound cliché, but even if we know it, taking care only of our own business is one of the biggest challenges of the human experience, when we put our focus elsewhere than what we have power over, guess what? We lose our power. When trying to reach our potential, it is really important to focus on what we have power over and trust that the rest will take care of itself. When you put your focus on other things, your focus ( A.K.A your energy ) dissipates. Therefore, you have less and less power and energy to step into the most magical version of yourself.

Quick tip : When you catch yourself playing someone else's job or life’s job, come back to your responsibility just by asking: What is in my control? How can I let go of what I don’t control and gain power over what I do? What if I chose to accept what I can’t control, what becomes possible?

6-Not looking inside

‘’Your external world is just a reflection of your internal world.’’

Everything, everything in life can be a mirror for you to see where you are not free, where you are not the way you think you are, where you have limiting beliefs. It just requires a bit of courage and awareness from yourself. When you bring curiosity into your life, you can see patterns that you could not see. For example, maybe your lack of money can give you a roadmap to see your limiting beliefs about money: Do you see rich people as evil? Do you think you are not worth the money? Do you think that you are stealing from others if you are rich?  Same thing with how you perform in your sport, maybe you think you want to be the best but you never are… It can be an opportunity to see the belief you have about yourself: Maybe you think you are not important, maybe you fear having the spotlight on you because deep down you have the belief that you are a failure, maybe you cannot be the number one because in your family, each time you won over your smaller brother, your parents put you down and in your mind, you now assume that being the best means that you are doing something wrong… Everything is just a reflection of who you are inside your own mind.

Quick tip : Look at what is triggering you or things that you are not satisfied with and inquire within with questions like: what does it mean about me if____? Who would think like that, what is the context that I need to have in my mind to attract circumstances like that? What does ____(someone with the thing you want) believe and how is it different from my deep beliefs and contexts?

7-Being outside of the NOW

‘’Am I willing to longer fear my past and love my future? ‘’

I cannot do it, If I do____ it will happen____, I am just not___enough…

Yes, based on what? Previous experience of the past where your mind came up with a meaning to make sure that it never happens again. But, If you were to forget your past, how can you limit yourself? Limiting your potential comes from the remembering of an old narrative that your brain changes completely to fit the story that you have about yourself. But what if today is different than yesterday? What today, you are a new human being? What if the last shot you take has nothing to do with the shot you will take now? What if the previous relationship has nothing to do with the new one that you are starting? There is no such thing as the same moment or the same person. Every moment is different and every second you are changing. The moment you realize that your future does not have to be like your past, you have the opportunity to step into the human being you want to be to get what you want to get, but it starts with this remembering and the choice of seeing things differently.

Quick tip : Next time you catch yourself seeing the future based on your past, ask yourself, If my past was completely different or if I have no past, how can I create a future that is aligned with me and what I want? Am I willing to choose differently? Who would I be if I knew for a fact that I am drawing on a blank canvas?

There is probably more to add and there is a different perspective that we can apply, but in my mind, if you are not limited by any of these 7 potential blockers, you are ‘’further’’ than 95% of the population. The question is : Are you willing to choose differently and are you ready to be different from 80% of the population?

With love,

Mikaël,

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