Written by Danielle Martins, a Strategic Life Mentor/Coach, an International Speaker and Co-Author. 2019.
Rise Up From Mental Slavery
With a humbled and grateful heart, I can tell you that I love my life! I have a beautiful family, I do what I love, I am proud of myself and the journey I have had the courage lead, and the accomplishments I’ve achieved… but it wasn’t always like this.
There was a time when my life was far away from what I wanted.
I was born and raised in poverty, and in a home that was very violent.
I suffered not only physical violence but also mental violence. I grew up surrounded by people who made me feel unworthy of love or respect. I had no self-confidence, I was constantly frustrated, feeling suffocated, and unmotivated.
Something inside me wanted to expand and overcome my situation, but at the same time, voices in my mind kept telling me that I wouldn’t make it.
Have you ever heard:
- You’re not good enough
- You are too old
- You can’t, who do you think you are
- You are going to fail
I knew that I could go much further in life, but for some unknown reason, I couldn’t see any changed in my life, no matter how hard I tried.
In fact, because I was so young when all the mental and moral abuse began, my internal dialogue shaped itself according to the limited perception that other people had about me; and I, inadvertently accepted that as being the truth about myself. Therefore, my results took the form of those limiting beliefs.
The consequences of living with these limiting beliefs?
I was in a constant struggle because I was stuck, overworked, underpaid, unhappy…
I hated my life, however, I was stubborn! I used to observe people and realized that for some of them, life would unfold beautifully, and I thought to myself: “There must be something they know and do differently. I have to find out what it is!”
And so, I began my quest to learn what they did so that I could overcome my own situation.
I was so determined to make changed that I was willing to “starve” the “old” me so I could be reborn into the person I wanted to become; the person I knew I was DESTINED to be.
This burning desire that I had to change not only allowed me to overcome the difficulties and limitations of the past, but also helped me to build a life of happiness, abundance, and joy.
You must have the desire to win and commit to yourself, to keep trying until you get what you want!
Let me give you 3 gold nuggets that have helped me to achieve my own success:
- Find a mentor: When I was struggling to change my results, I didn’t know what to do to succeed in life. I didn’t believe that I was smart enough to achieve my dreams, but the moment I invested almost all the money I had in my bank account into ma mentorship program, my life changed dramatically. The mentor helped me uncover my blind spots, to develop my strengths, to define and get organized with my goals and actions to achieve them and made me realize that I could, truly, trust myself! Find someone who can guide you and ask for help.
- Mental Programming – “You can’t get different results by doing the same things.” I know this sounds cliché, but trust me: if you really want to change your life, make a serious commitment to figure out what limiting beliefs you hold about yourself and get rid of them. The beliefs you have about your own potential will always shape your thoughts and feelings and, based on that, you will act. Those actions will create results and those results will shape your reality! Have you ever realized that you were speaking negatively about yourself? If you look at your life and see some aspects that you are not happy with, find what limiting beliefs have influenced you to make the decisions that have led you to where you are now. Become aware of your thoughts and the feelings that they trigger in you. Read books that can help you understand those feelings and how to deal with them.
- People – “If you are surrounded by chickens, don’t expect to fly like an eagle.” Make sure you carefully select the people you surround yourself with. Eliminate from your life the “naysayers”, the energy drainers, the toxic relationships. Surround yourself with only the best, people who have big dreams, great visions, desures, high achievers. Allow yourself to be influenced by their positive presence. Learn from them, help them. Having the best at your side will certainly accelerate the achievement of your dreams.
If I was able to overcome my past limitations to create the life I wanted, I know that you can do it too! I am no more special than you, I’m just someone who was hungry for change!