Can I ask if you’ve ever started a task and not finished it? You start with lots of enthusiasm and excitement and everything goes well and on track. Then suddenly, you hit a barrier. Usually, the barrier stops you from moving on with the task so what happens? Well, most of the time, you put the task on hold or even abandon it because you think the barrier is too difficult to overcome.

Like some of you, when I face a barrier in a task or, on a larger scale, in my life, I return to my comfort zone. Everything there is stress-free and easy – it’s comfortable – right? Consequently, the task gets abandoned and I start something new.

Have you ever started a diet and everything was going great. You lost weight, felt fitter and healthier than ever before but then…bam…you hit a barrier? You were still on the diet but your weight was at a standstill or worse still, increasing. Now what? It doesn’t seem to make sense and you ask yourself why you aren’t losing the weight anymore. You’ve hit a barrier and then you turn back, start eating more food again and start gaining weight. Maybe this is a familiar story.

What if you had pushed through the barrier and conquered it? What if you found a way to get through it and your results continued to improve? How would you feel then? I’m guessing you would feel fantastic and thrilled at overcoming the barrier.

Do you think this is a case of mind over matter? If you believe you can do it, and trust yourself to do it, then I believe you can do it. You can achieve anything as long as it’s not something impossible (like learning to fly!!). Tear down your barriers and keep improving. Your life will be richer and your self-confidence will soar.

I recently attended a 3-day business seminar in London, which covered mindset. What did I learn? The attendees were each given a block of solid pine wood, ¾ inch thick and also a steel bar, about 6 ft long. We were instructed to break the wood with our palm and bend the metal bar with our throat!! “Erm, no way. Are they kidding?” I said to myself. “I think I’ll sneak out of the room.”

The picture above is the result of my hand striking the wood! It was easy. I don’t have a picture of the bar bend but rest assured, my trachea bent that metal bar in half (that one took a partner to work in tandem). “Wow, I did it” were now the words from my mouth. You see, these 2 objects were barriers – real, solid barriers. I automatically decided that I would never get past them. But with instruction and the correct technique, I managed to break through them.

What barriers can you break through starting today?

Remember, there is no failure, only feedback.