Is there an area in your life where you want to surpass your limitations and break through to an entirely new realm? Perhaps you want to crush your numbers, develop a completely new market or beat a nasty habit.

This might be blocking your success

We all have a list of stories that we tell ourselves and others, and some of those stories are blocking our success without our knowledge or permission—they are weighing us down. Companies tell stories about being the underdog, being the number two in the market, about the limits of their industry, etc. Teams tell stories about being undermined by other departments and the tough, tough, competition. And we as individuals tell our own stories of injustice and woe. Rarely do we realize how much power telling these stories has over us and how much impact they can subtly have in our decision making and willingness to take risks.

The 1^st step in the process is to simply become aware of the unhelpful (even if they are true) stories in your life and your work. When a new person starts work at your company, does someone tell them the story of the merger that took place five years ago and how much better things were then? Just take note.

Next, consider letting go of some stories or changing them. About 15 years ago, one of my business deals ended badly with a colleague who breached his integrity and cost me a lot of money and time. I would run into him from time to time and always tried to avoid talking to him. I despised him. At one point I made a decision to process it in my mind and then let it go. I ran into him a few years ago and was able to make eye contact with him have a short, pleasant conversation. It was only then that I realized how much energy that old, old story was costing me. I felt remarkably different whenever I thought about the story after that, yet nothing had changed except for me deciding to let it go.

How can you change your story?

People in today’s work world may have been fired or laid-off or have been victims of a toxic work culture.  Unprocessed, the old story comes with them into interviews and new opportunities like a secret black cloud. Sometimes writing the letter you will never mail can help or even telling the story (for the last time) in a note book can shift things. There is no shame in having to see a counselor or therapist if that’s what it takes to move on. People also find relief from de-cluttering the history of the old story like shredding letters or getting rid of that ugly divorce file you have been keeping for 11 years.

Once you start letting go of old stories, you can, of course, create new ones—ones of unencumbered success. Tell the story of how you let go of the old stories and blew right past your former limits.