Do You Have a Hidden Handbrake Too?

You know that feeling where no matter how hard you try and push forward in life, you feel like something is holding you back and you get nowhere?

I’ve talked about this with a few different people – those feelings of being held back.

Sometimes the conversation is just a case of “hidden barriers”, or moves onto that all-too-common fear of rejection.

Sometimes it gets to being about something even scarier.

What you feel you deserve. 

If you don’t feel worthy of happiness or success (and many people don’t because of shame), then you’re going to be devoting massive amounts of energy to a mental conflict.

You consciously want success and happiness – but you subconsciously fear it, repel it, avoid it – because it makes you uncomfortable.

Because you don’t feel worthy.

Sometimes it might not even be feelings of shame that cause the block – but long term conditioning from shame issues in the past.

I feel much more confident talking to strangers these days, but sometimes I still hate picking up the phone and calling someone about something. If a small, silly behaviour like that can be affected, then what about all the other small things like having ideas, taking risks, thinking through strategies, putting yourself out there, recognising opportunities, seeking the company of new people to get to know?

It’s easy to see how a “hidden handbrake” could emerge, so that however hard you think you’re pushing the gas, something else is causing an awful lot of burning rubber and you’re making no actual progress.

Is this something you can relate to?

Don’t worry!

You’re not alone. It’s normal.

But that doesn’t mean that you can’t do something about it.

Related – Subconscious Self-Sabotage.