You can’t read the label from inside the jar.
— Southern Folk Wisdom
Every person has a little voice that lives inside their head — their inner dialog. This is the voice that you probably consider as your self. This is the voice that you hear as your inner dialog. It expresses your thoughts about your experiences and environment. It provides commentary on your experiences. And too often, it is your worst critic.
Maybe you have experienced this before. You get excited about some new experience or motivated to tackle some exciting new goal and then this inner critic pipes up. It starts by telling you that you aren’t up to the task or that you are doomed to failure. It points out all the things that might be difficult and gives you an endless stream of excuses for why you should quit before you even begin.
The problem with this kind of commentary from your inner voice is that it is wrong. It is just your brain trying to help you avoid risk and it is holding you back from reaching your full potential.
You can’t evaluate your potential and future capabilities when you have not yet experienced and developed them. Rather you have to show courage and step outside your comfort zone. The inner dialog is trapped in your head and from that perspective it cannot see your true potential. You can’t read the label from inside the jar.
What stories from your inner voice are keeping you from achieving your dreams?