At Schnizzfest earlier in the year, I spoke about self-awareness, how difficult it is for us to be self-aware and how much it impacts our lives. We all see this play out in our relationships, and I see it from TruMethods members regarding what holds them back from fulfilling their true potential.
You can lead a happy and fulfilling life without maximizing your capabilities. The issue is when you want or need your business or career to be different. In other words, you’re capable but not seeing results.
A thing stands between you and what you can accomplish — and I call it “the haze.” Essentially, you’re trying to see yourself, your role or your business performing differently, but the route to get there is viewed through a haze created by your self-image.
We, as human beings, find comfort in the haze. It makes our world smaller and safer and allows us to continue seeing the world the way we want. For example, when we’re in the haze, we don’t have to try new things that may fail. We also avoid having that hard conversation with a long-term employee that the business may have outgrown. We create this haze to keep ourselves safe — but it mainly prevents us from growing.
One of the main reasons why we have peer groups is to help one another see through the haze. The most rewarding thing for me is to see the haze lift and watch people begin to feel the thrill of fulfilling their potential and helping others do the same.
The moral of this story is that when someone tells you something or challenges you on a decision or a closely held belief, don’t dismiss it as “I know better.”
Consider everything. Ask yourself, “Is this my haze?”
