Have you ever heard the term “Upper Limiting”? In his book, The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks talks about how we self-sabotage by “upper-limiting” ourselves. He defines it like this:
“Each of us has an inner thermostat setting that determines how much love, success, and creativity we allow ourselves to enjoy. When we exceed our inner thermostat setting, we will often do something to sabotage ourselves, causing us to drop back into the old, familiar zone where we feel secure.”
Some of the ways we do this are worrying unnecessarily, playing the criticism and blame game, deflecting positivity and compliments, squabbling, and getting sick or injured. The premise is basically that we stop things from getting really great in our lives because, unconsciously, we don’t believe we deserve it. No one does it on purpose, so don’t beat yourself up. In my case with the newsletter, it was perfectionism (which might be a combination of criticism and worry).
Now I’ve learned that a balance needs to be struck between “getting it done” and “getting it right”, and in this case, I’ve been leaning all into the “getting it right” category, and therefore NOT getting it done at all.
Does this resonate with you? I can see how I’ve done this in so many ways throughout my life, but now that I recognize it so clearly, I’m changing how I do things. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. Starting with this post (which will also serve as a newsletter to those on my Email List)!
Owning up to behaviors/habits that don’t serve us is the first step in changing them. Now I’m wise to how seeking to get it right sabotages me from getting it done, so when I catch myself procrastinating on something because I want it to be “just so”, I will recalibrate and shift my trajectory towards Getting It Done.
In which ways do you Upper Limit yourself? I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below to start the conversation!
EVEN BETTER, take a minute to Schedule a Wellness Strategy Session with me!
It’s FREE!This is a time that you and I can have a real and honest conversation. I will help you get clear on what obstacles are in the way of your growth and HEALTH. No strings attached!