And I bet you’ve got the same problem.
Because crazy, passion-driven, creative entrepreneurs who have big desires and even bigger goals, we’re highly prone to this problem.
It’s what is popularly known as… an Upper Limit Problem.
And while it’s not usually fatal, it’s a royal pain in the ass. Because when it comes to having what you really want, reaching your most inspired goals and savoring your big successes, your Upper Limit Problem can seriously muck things up.
Here are a few examples of how an Upper Limit Problem manifests:
- You just launched a new program and it’s a huge success. You’ve made more money in the last two weeks than you did in the last 8 months. You’re psyched. You’re thrilled. You’re on Cloud 9. Then your computer goes on the fritz. You flip out, fall apart and spend 2 days screaming at your very sweet if somewhat aloof computer repair man. All that joy and celebration you felt over your launch… whoosh! It’s gone.
- You had a thrilling week where everything flowed like gin over ice. Your productivity was through the roof! You got everything done and done well, and it all unfolded with incredible ease. But now this week, everything feels hard, out of reach and impossible. It’s as if you’re drudging through quicksand to start the simplest things and nothing seems to come to completion.
- You and your honey spend a glorious weekend together, exploring new places, talking until midnight, making plans, sharing secrets and feeling closer than ever before. Then on Monday, you go ballistic when your love bunch forgets to walk the dog, and you both end up screaming at each other and going to bed mad.
Gay Hendricks, who coined the term Upper Limit Problem in his amazing book, The Big Leap, defines the Upper Limit Problem as:
“the human tendency to put the brakes on our positive energy when we’ve exceeded our unconscious thermostat setting for how good we can feel, how successful we can be, and how much love we can feel.”
The Upper Limit Problem shows up when we’ve reached our limit for feeling good or when we’re starting to experience a greater level of success in any area of our lives. It’s as if we all have a little, grumpy Catholic nun inside of us who’s ready to smack us down if we start to experience too much pleasure, joy, success or love of any kind. “Enough of that!” she shouts as she hits the back of your pleasure-grubbing hands with her metal ruler.
Do This Now
Take a moment, look back over your entrepreneurial history and see if you can identify how your own Upper Limit Problem pops up for you.
What tends to happen whenever you experience a new level of success or an intense amount of joy, or a deeper level of intimacy in your relationships? Does something happen to undermine those intoxicating feelings of success, joy and love?
As I look back over my entrepreneurial journey, I see my Upper Limit Problem staring back at me. Almost every time I’ve decided to take a big leap in my business, to start a new project that stretches my limits and challenges my self-image, I get physically sick.
Sometimes it’s just a bad head cold. Sometimes, it’s something more mysterious, worrisome and not easily remedied. But one thing is for sure. It always drains my energy, demands my attention and makes it hard for me to move forward with the glee and enthusiasm I usually feel when starting something new.
It’s as if my body becomes one big, fat “No!”
“No, Nancy, you don’t get to go for that big, delicious goal of yours because you just don’t have the energy for it. You can try to take action, but you’re going to feel like crap while you do. You’re going to be distracted and tired and, well, you’re not going to have any fun at all. So, you should just forget about it. Get well first. Yeah, that’s right. Screw all your big plans and new projects! You’re sick!”
But here’s what’s wicked cool about Upper Limit Problems. Once you’ve identified them as Upper Limit Problems, you’re no longer a victim to their influence. You have the power and clarity to make decision that either honors your limits or your possibilities. (Oh, go ahead and tweet that!)
Let Go & Let In
So, once you recognize the fact you’re up against an Upper Limit Problem, get fierce and ask yourself, “Can I let this go now and allow myself to open up to greater and greater levels of joy, love and success? How much can I let myself have right now?”
As my friend, colleague and mentor Eva Gregory used to say, “How good can you stand it?”
In his book, The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks uses this mantra anytime he recognizes he’s up against an Upper Limit Problem:
“I expand in abundance, success and love every day, as I inspire those around me to do the same.”
He feels this mantra is the antidote to our unconscious programming that tells us we don’t deserve big time success or to feel good every day.
For me, I do better when I ask myself questions, like: How much love and joy can I stand? How am I limiting my experience of joy, love and success? Once I see how I’m limiting myself, it’s easy for me to let it go and let in more of what I really want.
Get into the practice of opening and allowing more and more good feelings and celebrating every little success, delight and joy you experience. Decide that you get to have more and more of what you really want every day. Let go of the temptation to squash your good feelings with a bad day, a bad mood or an annoying but fixable problem.
So, take a moment and see if you can identify how and when an Upper Limit Problems shows up for you. Then share what you discovered in the comments below.
Let’s get that sucker out into the open light of day so it no longer has a hold on you.