For whatever reason it seems that most people tend to limit themselves… and in more ways than one. We tend to limit ourselves when it comes to our relationships, jobs/career, hobbies, food choices, places we go, what we wear, what we say, our belief systems etc., I could go on and on. This topic came to me because I realized that I am at fault of doing this just as much as the next guy and I see it happen all the time amongst people I talk to that I know as well as people I just met.

This is the recipe for a comfortable, but rather boring life. Keeping ourselves limited that is. But we humans tend to err on the side of comfort rather than taking a risk. It’s just seemingly easier that way, although as the old saying goes, ‘no risk, no reward’. It’s true, you will rarely be rewarded handsomely for doing the same routine stuff over and over or repeating the same old pattern(s) in life. And that’s pretty much what this boils down to, we get used to repeating the same patterns in our lives. It’s easy to get used to doing the same things over and over.

The same route to work, the same meals cycled through over and over every week or two, the same clothes we wore just last week, the same word patterns that come out of our mouths on auto-pilot, the same thought patterns that we engage ourselves in. If you have ever heard of Pareto’s Principle or better known as the 80/20 rule, this explains this concept rather well.

It basically states that 80 percent of the output of a given situation is determined by 20 percent of the input. This is a rough estimate, and in reality sometimes it can be more extreme like 85/15 or even 90/10. For example, you could say that some (if not many) people will wear a small portion (20 percent) of their wardrobe 80 percent of the time. Didn’t I just wear this shirt last week? 

So I’d like to take this time out to remind you (and myself) that you always have options. You don’t have to stay in that mediocre relationship just because you are comfortable and used to that person. You don’t have to stay in that same boring job you hate (or semi-hate), you don’t have to have the same routine everyday even if you think it is a healthy one! Ah, there are a lot of you don’t have to’s in life, are there not?

We talk a lot about changing the way we think about things on this blog, especially our beliefs about things or changing our core belief system to help us evolve. This is a big one that many will stick to tooth and nail just because it was what they were taught to believe ever since they were children. We don’t want to rock the boat or move that cornerstone that all of our beliefs are based upon out of comfort and fear of what it would mean.

Plus, a lot of those around us and those people we always looked up to either taught us these things or approved of them. The societal matrix we live in depends on us keeping with the status quo and not questioning the mainstream consensus. This is another biggie when it comes to limiting ourselves and our options in life.

A good way of looking at other options or making some changes for ourselves is to see things as an adventure or better yet an experiment. This way there isn’t too much heavy emotional investment and it’s easier to take some risks mentally. We could always go back to our old ways if we choose.

Try This Experiment in Manifestation

Here’s something you can try, just as a fun experiment:

• Start telling yourself and visualizing something that you would like to see ultimately manifest in your life, whether that be a certain experience or situation you would like to be part of. Manifesting a concrete object you can also do, but I find can be more difficult in the beginning, so start with the latter which is easier at first.

• Choose an experience that really intrigues and entertains you (hopefully positive). Something simple that would be fun and easy to visualize, imagine or daydream about if you want to look at it that way.  It could be as simple as getting a certain reaction from a particular person (or a stranger even), running into someone (friend or acquaintance) somewhere in particular (or a random place even) or having someone say something to you out of the blue. Eventually you can build on this and create more complex situations.

• Of course, the more time and energy you put into it on a daily basis the better, but you should do it daily, twice a day for best results. Let yourself relax and use your imagination.  In the end, your mind does not know the difference between something real or imagined that you tell it as long as you put strong emotion and visualization behind it and so it goes to work creating it. Give it a shot and see what happens. Be patient, it may take a while so at least give it 30 days.

I’ve actually manifested some interesting things/experiences in my life doing this. The strangest part about this process is that if and when it does happen, it will when you least expect it and secondly, it’s rarely exactly as you thought it would be. There are usually at least some small, if not sometimes large differences/details from what you visualized although the general idea, experience or concept that you chose to create happens.

The more you do it, the better you get at it because your confidence builds and so does your belief in your ability to do it. The more you master this process the more accurate your experience will be compared to your created visualization/story. Have fun with it and don’t take yourself too seriously.  It’s good to exercise our options more often than not. Experimenting with our creative self is one way to do this and explore reality on a deeper level.

It’s too easy to do the same thing over and over and build repetitious patterns in our lives as I mentioned before. Patterns can be a good thing in some cases but they can also become a trap, and a limiting one at that. Remember, we are also creative (human) beings, so we have free will and free choice to break our self-imposed, limiting molds and models and give ourselves endless options.