Life Coaching Tip: Your brain literally blocks out obvious things that are right in front of you when your subconscious mind decides they are irrelevant. To be fully aware of all the opportunities available to you, you must first be open to the idea that they exist. You are a powerful human, and your potential is limitless!
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My husband, Jerry, and I recently vacationed in Naples, Florida. Although we’ve visited the area twice before, we decided to return since it was our first flying experience since the beginning of the pandemic. We both felt more comfortable traveling somewhere familiar.
Our favorite part of vacationing in Naples is taking long walks on the beach each morning just as the sun is rising. Starting the day off with our toes in the white sand and collecting seashells as the waves come crashing in is simply good for the soul.
We also like walking out onto the fishing pier where the expansive view of the gulf is always stunning. Typically, we enjoy spotting pods of dolphins playfully jumping in the waves, delighting us with their acrobatics.
But this visit, we forgot all about the dolphins until day three. At some point that morning, as we were watching pelicans fish from the pier, it dawned on me that we hadn’t seen a single dolphin yet.
Then, the first explanation for this that popped into my mind was perhaps it was too late in the spring for dolphins? Typically we travel to Florida mid-winter, and so maybe our timing was off?
Such a silly thought, I know. I mean, I knew it even as I was considering it, but my brain was trying to understand why there were no dolphin sightings yet on this trip.
And as I did a quick scan of the gulf waters, there was not a dolphin to be found, proving my strange hypothesis to be true.
But, you know, I’m a life coach, and I often get curious about my thoughts, especially the ones that are obviously illogical.
So, I had a brief discussion with Jerry about the story I had concocted, and we decided to actively look for dolphins with the assumption they were there.
Sure enough, they were! Lots, and lots, and lots of them… of course! And within a matter of a few minutes, we were spotting them in the open waters as far as our eyes could see.
So, assuming I don’t have magical powers to manifest dolphins (because that would be weird), here’s what actually happened…
My brain, like your brain, literally blocks out obvious things that are right in front of my face when my subconscious mind decides they are irrelevant.
To be fair, the brain does need to sift through millions of bits of information that are coming at us in any given moment and filter out anything that is not useful or important to us. I mean, it would be bonkers to pay attention to everything within our environment all at once!
But still, when I miss something so obvious, it drives home the importance of staying curious about my thoughts. Because I know that when I think that something is impossible (and tell myself a ridiculous story like I made up about “dolphin season”), my brain then filters out any opportunities associated with that thing.
I mean, why pay attention to information about something that is not possible, right?
And I see this with my clients all the time., whether it’s about a business idea, job prospect, dating opportunity, or something else. Once they are willing to release their limiting belief that what they want isn’t possible and begin actively focusing on what they want – ta-da!
Opportunities start “magically” popping up everywhere, like the dolphins!
For instance, have you ever been shopping for something, like let’s say a red car, and then suddenly, you start seeing red cars everywhere? There’s truly no hocus pocus involved here, it’s just that your subconscious mind is now on “red alert” (ha-ha) to let all the red cars you pass into your awareness and ignore all the rest.
Why is this important?
Well, because I want you to be fully aware of all the opportunities in front of you.
The first step in creating the results you are wanting is to challenge any limiting beliefs that might be getting in your way.
What are you telling yourself is impossible, improbable, or too hard?
Begin there, change these stories and then watch all the opportunities flood in.
You are one powerful human, and your potential is limitless.
You just have to be open to believing it!
PS – Ready to let go of your limiting beliefs, but not sure where to begin? Start by checking out my private coaching page!
Let That Sink In: Choose Thoughts That Inspire You!