Mental barriers and how to break them

[Daniel J. Bertelsen]

Most people (if not all people), have them in one way or another.

Mental barriers. We are all familiar with them and have at some time in our life in one way or another struggled with mental barriers and how to break through them. Some manage to do, some take a little longer, and some don't.

Either way, I think personally that mental barriers are a very important factor in the matters of entrepreneurship. They can by the end of the day be the keystone in your decision making whether it is if you should give your childhood dream of owning a specific dream car a shot, or if you should try to establish your first abroad business.

No matter what, after you've broken or moved a mental barrier, it all seems so much easier and you will be looking back at the steppingstone you just went from with a smile on your face, while standing on your new steppingstone. The only thing you need to do, is to take the step - either by yourself, or to have somebody helping to push you.

I would like to hear peoples opinions and their tips and tricks on how to break through or move ones mental barriers. It is a thing that we all have in common as entrepreneurs, so I think we should share the knowledge on how to handle this phenomenon, and give each other tips and advise on how to do so.

When did you move or break through a mental barrier the last time, and if you look back, is there one specific mental barrier that means particularly much? (either personal or in the matters of entrepreneurship?)

Unfortunately, I am not able to find any books or other related material concerning the art of breaking through your mental barriers?
Does anybody know or can recommend anything?

Looking forward to be hearing some great inputs and answers,

Daniel

[diezyl]

Hello Daniel and All

I must say, exceptional topic!

I am actually working on this in my life currently.
It is an ongoing struggle for me because I think (jokingly) that this is why I am living this life now, to overcome this issue.

I take any barrier that I have whether it is being shy, or starting a business without anyone pushing me or joining me as a challenge/dare.

You see I have been told what to do my entire life by parents and boyfriends and because I WAS a goodie 2shoes I listened to them and missed many callings and or opportunities that came my way.

If someone tells me I cannot do something, I get this energy in my tummy that boils and it forces me to push myself and prove that they are wrong and that I have the gumption to do anything.

I pray alot because that is the most important key and even if you think it is being religious, it is not. It is actually meditating and making your mind stronger so that you may focus on what you need and it will come to you.
My ideas come to me through God in visions while I am awake and also vivid dreams.
I still have many questions because this is a venture that I just started working on and thus, why I have joined this website.

Barriers are bad habits that has to be broken one step at a time.
Barriers are put in place so that our destinies do not come true.
We all have great destinies to accomplish and if we fall into the barrier trap, our destinies are waylaid. It's like a war which we must constantly strategize and prepare for or we will lose.

So if you want... We could start D.A.B. (Destinies Against Barriers) where we motivate people to stay on the track to their dreams. It's kind of like an AA support system.

Let me know what you think guys.

Much love to all and God Bless! Yeah Yeah!

[EntreprenuerVu]

hey man i had that with this with my business ive read countless books how to overcome fear, thinking big, all of that none of the books really help its just your own mentality; you doubt yourself in your decisions and question if you are really good enough to achieve this even though you may have a great idea of doing something, at the end of the day thats all you have is an idea. doing something is totally different you need both to be successful. my advice to you is find a buddy or someone who pushes you to your goals and dreams rather then doing it by yourself because one you have a better success rate if you have a partner rather then working alone and 2nd you get more work done then if you worked alone. i had the same problem and it delayed me for months at a time and that all changed when i found partners in my business they sort of complement me as in what i didnt have they have so im greatful. good luck man you have to be mentally and emotionally prepared once you are in business because it will leave without you.

[1entrepreneur]

Interesting topic.

[ZingerIntl]

I have been studying the understandings of the mind and universe for 7 years now and all that needs to be known is "the only reason you are here physically is to gain experience what you need to still learn." In other words, conquer mental blocks, because what comes easily has already been learned. Wheather you believe in past lives or not, no energy is ever created or destroyed, you are always you, always getting better, collecting knowledge through experience. knowledge your energy will keep for ever. If everything in this world that ever wsa or ever will be started with a thought. Many thoughts, focus thoughts, WHAT DO YOU FOCUS ON? That is what is coming. EVERYTIME. Worried about money, focus on lack, you will have a lack of money guaranteed. 'I AM A GREAT WRITER. I AM A GREAT WRITER. I AM A GREAT WRITER. I AM A GREAT WRITER.'

To break a mental block is much easier if you decide it is, not focus on how your purpose is to defeat it but on how it IS defeated. Here are the steps
When faced with the mental block, what EXACTLY are you thoughts? Write them down. Here is one I am dealing with... 'This economy is tough to get a loan.' Now change those words to work for you. ' I am so happy and grateful for Getting funded,' and now it will be an inspiring story to tell in the future. What if your block was that you are shy, write down this and stick it to 5 places you walk by everyday at home. "I am a master of my thoughts. I am a master of my thoughts. I am a master of my thoughts." REPEAT 100's of times. You will become a master of your thoughts and then start focusing on how confident you are, how you can and will be able to do this or that or what ever you need to do. You can, And you Will.

Now my mental block in life has never been sports, girls, health, family, or friends, those all came very easily, because I have always known that they will My problem comes with the money staying, the reason is when money is flowing, I work harder, become scared of losing it AGAIN and because you only create what you consciously think about, I lose it. Well that was up until last year. Last year I went to a hypnotherapist who wanted to find the root cause of this problem. She took me through this process called Time Line Therapy and this is what we found, 4 life times ago disease struck and killed everything I had worked for my whole life (wife, crops, children, cattle) It was to the point were I thought, 'what was the point of waiting so long, working so hard, to end up with nothing?' So my energy now says, 'spend it before you lose it.' I will tell you what happened the day I left the hypnotherapist, my neck stopped cracking, joints stopped hurting, I became waaaaay more patient, (which stops many arguments, which makes your relationships way stronger,) I sleep better, I feel better, and I make totally different, rational, quicker smarter decisions. Best $1000 ever spent.
I highly recommend it even if you are religious and do not believe in past lives, your focus on God helping you or saving you, your belief in good coming to you is the reason it comes, try understanding something about yourself you do not already know and knowledge is power so keep learning. Explore. Explore your mind, your country, your friends minds, be excited, be happy, realize that IF LIFE WERE HARD WE WOULD HAVE IT FIGURED OUT ALREADY, Life is to be easy, abundant, long. It will be when you take the first step, and keep going. Ever realize that emotions (FEAR) cause all the bad things in your life to happen. Try the other way around. Try pure raw excited emotion of LOVE towards your goal. And Good Luck when it gets here.

[chrispalko]

I look at the business world as a choice. You can choose to start, own, operate your business and put yourself on a path to success and financial freedom...OR...you can choose not to, get a job (some call it a career), work, pay bills, work, pay bills...work...pay bills...wo-

Ultimately, it's your choice. It's a decision. Don't worry about failure, you can fail at anything, what's the difference?

I personally looked at my options and chose the best decision.

All the books, audio, and inspirational text I read after this decision only comforted me and assured me that I made a good choice. (BTW, I like the rich dad series for success motivation, and larry winget for life motivation).

[Gopal Dev]

Everyone has good days and bad. So, the key is to realize that when things get bad, they will eventually get good again and that one has to stay focused and keep pushing. It's analogous to going to the gym. Some days you just feel amazing and others are a total waste. Doesn't mean you quit. Almost all of the time it is due to a simple mental block and mind over matter has to be used to counteract it. The mind and our emotions are such powerful things that everyday is a constant battle to harness their unpredictable volatility. It's really about fighting fire with fire. You keep at it and if some days you need to take a step back and do something totally unrelated to decompress, do so. It will help you see the positive side of what you were doing initially, and miss not doing it. This will be the incentive you need to get back on the horse and start a new day, fresh. You can only fail at something if you quit. Never quit unless whatever you are doing becomes harmful to yourself or others. This is so rarely the case that all you really need to do from time to time is shift gears. Stick and move...but keep moving! Cheers,

Gopal (The Musical Mad Scientist and Entrepreneur)
The v-Fusion Group

[Creativity]

Thanks guys for sharing this information. I don't mentally ill, but it is really useful to be aware of.

[ChadFraz]

One of my biggest shortcomings also happens to be one one my best qualities.

I am one of the least emotional people you will meet. It allows me to think logically and asses situations without emotion clouding the scene.

It also makes it difficult to find the emotional push to pursue some of the valuable ideas I have come up with over the years. It is a mental blcok because it does affect my drive.

Imagine a line graph showing emotions, mine would be a straight line right through the middle.

I have learned to overcome this by feeding off of the energy and emotions of others. I have found this to be the best way to overcome it.

As a side note, I have adopted a catch phrase to help me through tough situations. I used to get angry, mad, resentful, sad, worried, etc. when something would happen. In the past year I realized most things don't matter in the long run and I can't help the situation a lot of times. If something happens that I had/have no control over I internally say "It is what it is" and move on.

Those words and singlehandidly removed a lot of stress in my life.

[Elite Designer]

I think first you have to make a huge mental commitment to breaking that mental barrier. Then you have to start taking action, like learning as much as you can about the new skill you have to acquire. Then you have to actually start putting it into practice and disregard the fact that you're not good at it in the beginning. Then you have to start having some successes, then more successes, then more successes. Eventually you will have a lot of knowledge, experience, and a long string of successes and you will be an unstoppable force of nature. You will have supreme confidence. You will have shattered that mental barrier and you will be living on a higher plane of existence. You will be very successful.