You can break through barriers and limits and when you do you’ll often find that those weren’t the limits. If you’re going to go past average and do something impossible, by definition most people won’t believe it’s possible. You almost need the ability for willful ignorance. I’ve always had this visualization of being at the edge of a cliff and stepping off only to realize that I wasn’t actually at the edge; that my perception of reality was off. You learn over time that the reality may be that there are no cliffs and that most cliffs in life are simply invisible boundaries that can be interpreted as either boundaries or opportunities to push yourself.
The reality might actually be, as corny as it sounds, that all things are possible. It comes up over and over again in speeches by all sorts of people across all fields; from Steve Jobs to Will Smith. You have to believe something is possible that almost no one else does, so most people and feedback will be about why whatever it is isn’t possible, or isn’t likely to work for you. If you deeply believe in something, you may need to initially plow ahead on your own; knowing that it’s the right thing.
Realize this fact, no one knows everything or starts out at an expert level. In fact, everyone basically starts out very poor at a particular skill. It takes time to learn and the truth is that you’ll never know 100%, so accept this fact while keeping an open mind and always be willing to learn more. Also realize that this means no one else knows 100% either, so don’t worry about it. A smart approach is to continue growing and seek out those who know more than you, so that together you grow and can approach that elusive 100%.
Remember, hesitation and inaction are both choices too.
“You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take…” - Wayne Gretzky
