Do you fantasize about feeling so empowered, you’re unstoppable? It’s as though you set any goal and know you’ll achieve it because of your mental superpower.
The good news? We all have this mental power. The challenge is our subconscious mind ruins our progress, often leading to a feeling of absolute overwhelm.
Gay Hendricks, in his book ‘The Big Leap’ talks about the concept of our Upper Limit problems. Think of an imaginary glass ceiling. The ceiling is your Upper Limit, which separates where you are now from where you want to be.
We often feel resistance when we’re pushing our Upper Limit and will do things to sabotage our breakthroughs. This unconscious action is called our Upper Limit Problems.
The solution to ending overwhelm: learn to stay in your Zone of Genius. I discuss this trait later in this article.
But first, you need to recognize your actions that are slowing you down.
Watch Out for These Behaviors that Add to Overwhelm
These are indicators you’re approaching your ceiling:
• Starting arguments
• Blaming or criticizing others
• Going after shiny objects
• Worrying unnecessarily
You may also have limiting beliefs, keeping you from pushing through, such as these:
• I don’t have time
• I can’t because __
• It costs too much
• I don’t have the right skills
• What if I fail
Here’s the deal, every time we push ourselves out of our comfort zone, it’ll feel stretchy. Recognize this as a good sign because it indicates you’re advancing. If you can learn to embrace this discomfort, you’ll be able to soar!
How to Breakthrough Your Glass Ceiling
It turns out, your Zone of Genius (ZOG) is where you’re the happiest. It’s also the area you’re naturally gifted. What this means is, stay in your ZOG as much as possible!
You may excel at singing, science, writing, sales, etc. However, you may stink at details, organization, or technology. You see, the more you operate in your ZOG, the easier breaking through your Upper Limit will be.
Delegate what you are not good at or partner with someone who has the skills you lack.
Case Study – How to Go from Overwhelm to Thriving
I recently had a client come to me who was in tears because she was working 60+ hours a week on her new business. Despite her hard work, she hadn’t gotten one client.
Her ZOG was creative writing. However, she spent 90% of her time doing technical work, like building her website and creating sales funnels. She was miserable!
It gets better! We found a way for her to trade services with a techie friend. She got her first client within a week of this new arrangement. More importantly, her stress shrunk, and her happiness increased.
When you’re not operating in our ZOG, your efforts will consume more mental energy. You’ll burn out, get frustrated, and often give up.
On the flip side, if you are doing what you love 80% of the time, how much easier will it be to reach your goals?
Your One-Two Punch to Soar in Your Zone Of Genius & Crush Overwhelm
There are many ways to create habits to help you move through the thoughts and behaviors that aren’t serving you. Once you learn these tools, you can gain control of unhealthy patterns and switch them quickly.
- Develop an awareness of when you’re hitting your Upper Limit and creating problems for yourself.
- Remember to stay in your ZOG!
Stay aware of these two elements and watch how your life transforms.