Time and time again, throughout the course of my life, I have come back to the same realization. Each time from a separate yet similar experience of adversity and limitation. Each time I recognize that the only real limitations I have, the only ones that matter, are upheld by myself. It is my belief in the limitations that makes them real, for when I believe in them I act as if they are reality. Instead of simply being myself, I act according to the limitations I believe myself to have.

Limitations are any sort of idea that forms a mental block. This could be the idea that you’re not creative, that you’re too old or too young, or even that you’re unlovable. These are all just ideas, but when you believe in any one of those ideas you create a limitation for yourself. Then, when you want to do something that conflicts with that idea, you block yourself because you believe it isn’t possible.

This is a subtle but profound realization. More often than not, these limitations were unconsciously adopted from family members, society, or peers – but with this knowledge you have the power to choose whether to continue enforcing these limitations or to let them go, you are not bound by them. All you need to do is to let go, to release them from your mental grips and to stop picking them up again, however this may seem easier said than done.

Your Identity – Who You Believe Yourself to Be

The reason these mental limitations are seemingly difficult to let go of lies in the nature of your attachment to them: you’ve incorporated them into your personal identity. Since they are part of your identity, you fear that losing them means losing a part of yourself. You’ve grown so attached to these limiting beliefs that you mistake them for who you are.

These limitations, and the identity they make up, are not who you are. They are merely an aspect of who you can be.

You made this definition of self throughout your life so far, and you continue to build on it each day. The very nature of this identity is limitation: by defining yourself you assert that you are some things and therefore not other things.

In a literal sense this is true – I am a human and therefore not a tiger – but I’m not speaking literally here. The definition of self, your identity, is primarily comprised of ideas that became beliefs.

I’m not insisting you redefine yourself as a tiger when you are in fact a human. I’m suggesting that if you look at your identity with an open mind, you’ll find subtle – and not so subtle – ways that you hold yourself back from what you want in life. Therefore, taking a conscious look at these unconscious beliefs and how they’ve played a role in your life can free you up to pursue your heart’s desire.

Be Yourself Without Limits

I don’t think it wise to hastily replace your identity with a new one, but rather to contemplate what it means to let go of identity all together.

At first it may seem like a terribly uncomfortable proposition – sit with that feeling to really understand its roots. That feeling is the attachment which keeps you bound to identity and its limitations.

Once you’ve taken all that in, continue to imagine what it would really mean to let go of the notion of identity entirely. Would you no longer try to appear a certain way to fit an image? Would you stop trying to do things that you think people would approve of? What would that feel like?

I imagine it would feel like the deepest, most blissful freedom. The freedom to be completely yourself, not how you believe yourself to be. In letting go of that limited aspect of self, you can embody your unlimited and undefined true nature. You can do things that don’t fit into the mold of who you thought you were, or who society wants you to be.

With all that freedom comes relaxation, all that mental energy spent keeping up the appearances of your identity can now be devoted to other more meaningful tasks.

Reflect On What Being Yourself Really Means

Free of identity, you can ask yourself: what do I really aspire to in this life? What do I love to create and share with others? Have there been things I’ve felt inspired to do, but mentally talked myself out of?

If nothing else mattered, what activity would bring you the most profound feeling of wholeness and joy? What brings you that priceless feeling of true fulfillment and purpose?

These are deep questions that deserve thoughtful reflection. Explore different perspectives and look back on your entire life. A great book that can help stimulate this type of reflection is The Great Work of Your Life by Stephen Cope, for me it brought up childhood memories of almost forgotten passions and aspirations.

Have patience and compassion for yourself, remember that you have the power to either enforce or release any limitations you have. Will you continue to use your power against yourself or will you embrace all that you can be?