The things that are holding you back exist in your head.  This makes them none the less real and no less difficult to overcome than enemies in the outside world.

Beliefs, judgments, fears and rules seem real and binding but they can all be taken out and examined for their usefulness.  Are they supporting you or holding you back?  Consider this story in relation to your own life:

Once upon a time, in a far distant land, a traveler while walking through a forest came upon a clearing. There to his amazement, he saw an elephant tethered to a tree by merely a silken thread. His curiosity roused, he continued until he found an encampment where he could enquire about this amazing phenomenon.   A young boy directed him to the elephant trainer, who told him its quite simple, as soon as an elephant is born I tie him to an oak tree with a heavy chain and thus he learn he cannot escape, Each year I reduce the size of the tether until finally, when the elephant is fully grown, all that is needed to restrain him is a silken thread. *

What are the silken ties that bind you?

You might like to read blog post The Alchemy of Courage

* Written by Diana Pringle in ‘Existential Perspectives on Coaching’