Limiting Beliefs – Future Pilot Niner One

We admire people who are courageous. Better yet, we are inspired by them. They are giants in our eyes, whatever their physical stature. Even the smallest person can be a giant, a ‘force of nature’, if they are courageous.

What could you become, if you had a little more courage?

We could all do with a bit more courage. At least, I know I could. Anyone know any one selling courage in a bottle? I wish!…I don’t mean drugs. Although drugs can disinhibit us and give us a temporary ‘courage’ (if we can even call it that), it’s not always appropriate to be ‘under the influence’ and it certainly isn’t always healthy. I don’t think that the benefit of drug-induced ‘courage’ outweighs the costs.

Holding Back From Your Dream?

One of the biggest things that kept me from starting off on my dream of become a pilot was fear. How paradoxical then that one of the biggest things that made me finally pursue my dream of becoming a pilot was fear.

Fear can keep you from trying new things, from expressing yourself fully and from making yourself vulnerable. However, fear isn’t only an inhibiting force. It can enable you to run faster than you ever have, jump higher than you ever thought you could and endure far more than you ever have.

I’ve had the dream and hope of becoming a pilot, for as long as I can remember. That was the carrot. It was calling me forth, to an adventure unlike any I had ever embarked on. Interestingly, I didn’t do much about it. I stayed in my comfort zone, waiting to pursue my dream at a more convenient time.

What Will Happen If You Don’t Try?

What sprung me into action was the development of a new, more powerful fear than that which held me back. Instead of being shackled by the fear of what would happen if I went for my dream, I was pushed by the fear of what would happen if I didn’t.

I realised that life could actually pass me by, that I could spend another another 6 years, and then another, and another, and never get any closer to my dream.

I became afraid of being an old man and having my dream turn into nothing more than a bitter regrets. I became afraid of living a life of insignificance, doing everything other than the very thing I’m most passionate about.

I am afraid of becoming the kind of person I would become, if I were to allow fear to shackle and keep me from the righteous pursuit of living my dream. That person is neither the kind of person I would admire, nor the kind of person I would be inspired by.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that fear is the best fuel or motivator to get anyone to their goal. Hope is a powerful, sustainable and enduring force.

I’m just saying, if you must fear, fear what would happen if you didn’t pursue that which you know to be the most valuable pursuit, even in your own estimation.

Live your dreams. After all, is there anything better to do?

For more on how I’m getting on with learning to fly, check me out on the YouTube.👊🏾

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I like writing because it allows me to step out of the frame and view myself through a more objective lens. It gives me the opportunity to check myself against the good ideas I know to be true and right. No matter how great you are, there will always be a need to check that you are operating optimally and that you are still heading in the direction of your goal. If you are not, corrections must be made.

I’ve been thinking about the last 5 years of my life and what held me back from pursuing my dream goal. My dream, for as long as I can remember, has been to become a pilot. The thought of being able to fly an airplane stirs up passion from deepest parts of my soul. So, why did I ever hold back from pursuing my dream? For the same reason that most people hold back from pursuing theirs.

What’s Your Excuse?

My excuse for not pursuing my goal, with every fibre of my being, wasn’t even an original excuse. I simply borrowed it. The excuse that gave me comfort, by stripping me of my rightful responsibility was, “I can’t afford it”.

I used that excuse to explain away making zero progress over the years. After all, I didn’t have parents who could remortgage the family house to pay for flight school.

The Danger Of Factual Excuses

On one level, my excuse was a true fact. This meant that I could go about my everyday life feeling justified in my self-deception. Ultimately, that excuse was total and utter bullshit.

Just recently, I had a flashback to what was the pivotal moment that led me to single-mindedly pursuing my dream of becoming a pilot. It was a conversation I had with an old college friend, Ellis, right after the funeral of one of our teachers.

Filled will the sadness of tragedy, we discussed the power of potential. I told Ellis about my dream, explaining that the lack of money was the main reason why I couldn’t achieve it.

Ellis peered straight into my eyes and said, “I don’t believe that money is your issue”. In a few words, he destroyed the excuse that I had hidden behind, and comforted myself with for years. It didn’t fully manifest until 2 months later, but in that very moment, there was a shift in my mindset.

The Greatest Challenge To Achieving Your Dreams

What is the greatest challenge to achieving your dreams? Is it money, access to the right people or the state of the economy? Is it the colour of your skin?

A lot of people are impressed and even inspired by the journey I am on. (Click here to learn more about me.) I am humbled and grateful for that, but I am not impressed with myself. That’s because, from the way I see it, I am making up for lost time.

You can have all the money, the necessary network and the opportunities in a booming economy, as well as having from the ‘right’ ethnic background, and still make zero progress towards your dream-goal. Why? Two words. Limiting beliefs.

What is a Limiting Belief?

A limiting belief is a story you tell yourself, over and over again, about what you can’t do and why you can’t do it. That story limits how hard you work, your ability to spot opportunities to progress and consequently, how far you will advance despite your passion, vision or dream.

This is why even though I could have comfortably afforded 3 flying lessons every month, at one point, I did not do anything about it. Those limiting beliefs result in possibility blindness.

The Question Is: What Are You Becoming?

Here is one of the greatest questions I learned from the late Jim Rohn, a motivational speaker who remains a positive influence on many even beyond the grave: What are you becoming? He explains that most important thing to ask in any endeavour is not, “what am I doing?” It is, “what am I becoming?”

Your dream-goal flows out of the depths of your soul. It has the power to infuse you with the kind of energy and focus that every-day, mundane tasks simply fail to do. If you do not pursue your dream-goal with everything you have, despite how unlikely it might seem, you will definitely not achieve it. But more importantly, what will you become? In not giving your whole self to the most worthy cause you can think of, what will you become?

Conversely, if you choose to accept and embrace the high probability of failure, presented to you by your circumstances, there is nothing left to hold you back. Why? Why embrace the fear? Why embrace the probability of failure? The answer is no secret.

Choose What You’ll Become

It is in failure that we learn. It is in failure that we grow. It is in failure that we develop the necessary knowledge, skills and ability to achieve that which we hope to achieve. It is in the willingness to withstand the full force of failure, that we become worthy of that which we desire.

Don’t take my word for it. Take only that which resonates with you as being true. Fail fast. Fail often. Fail forward. An ‘L’ is never a loss, if you learn from it. Anything that is worth having, will come at a price and is worth sacrificing for. Pursue your dream-goal, despite the potential and possibility for failure. Do it, not least, for what it will make of you.

As far as I can see, it will make you strong, courageous, inspirational and more likely to achieve your dream-goal and sustain the challenges that come with living your dreams. At worst, the passionate pursuit of your dream-goal will develop you into the kind of person who is better able to achieve any other goal set before them.

Choose what you will be come by the actions you take in every moment of every day. Approach failure with great enthusiasm for what it will make of you to learn from it.

Thank you for your time.