90% of adult life is defined by this

I lied.

I had planned on writing about the art of short-form video from an interview with an amazing creator today.

It will have to wait until next week as I want to do it justice and deliver quality to you that is actionable for the sake of your future video production endeavors.

Today, I want to share something a little more personal as a reminder to you all

No frills, and no structure today, just a message that has been eating at me…

Self-limiting beliefs

AKA the cages that we put up around ourselves as we grow older and start to care about how society views us…

I’m in the process of reversing it.

How you ask? (Please ask because otherwise this is going to be a torture read, and nobody wants to waste their time reading drivel).

I’m reversing it by watching and learning from my kids.

Children have no insecurities or inherent fears.

They are little balls of cartilage, pudge, drool, and poops packaged in a diaper loaded with butt paste.

They are apparently indestructible and part starfish.

My kid lost a thumbnail two months ago.

I had to trim it last week.

Meanwhile, the lines on my face from sleeping funny into my pillow have yet to fade (hopefully by Monday they will be gone otherwise, I’ve got a good story about how I’m rapidly aging into my bed).

But I digress.

Children are boxes of wonder that run on milk, juice boxes, and goldfish.

They have a busy full-time job to explore the world and nap.

We parents do our best to guide them based on our vague childhood memories that have been muddied and distorted through years of corporate meddling.

Unfortunately, we channel many aspects of our parents before us.

The irony is that grandparents somehow revert back to their childlike states after a certain point (much to the chagrin of parents as this seemingly undoes any progress in sugar intake regulation).

I’ve come to see the wisdom of a child being raised by both generations as I’m fortunate to have this privilege…especially here in the US where it’s more the custom to kick the kids out at 18 and hope for the best.

The desire to fit in is a survival strategy that is passed down in order to make a mark on the world and play nice with the rest of the world so that it gives us food, water, shelter, and a place to stream Netflix and enjoy the creature comforts of wifi.

It’s great for the system.

It’s hell on the pursuit of a fulfilling life.

It preoccupies our mental space for a good chunk of our best years as we struggle to perpetuate the system so that we strive towards the stars.

Ahem.

In other words, society has a plan as well as the rails and boxcars to load everyone on the pain train towards that grand future.

Self-limiting beliefs are somehow part of the package.

Not all of us want to be stuffed in there, though.

Enough chatter. Let’s talk about jumping off the train.

I use a very simple 3-step process in my deconstruction of my self-limiting beliefs:

1. Stop caring what others think.

2. Don’t hesitate to act on the first point.

3. When in doubt, definitely refer to the first point.

Simple, right?

Mark Manson puts it much more eloquently in his two books about this topic, and I highly recommend reading them.

His YouTube channel is equally entertaining and illuminating.

…this is supposed to be a short newsletter this week.

I really am in the process of letting go, and it’s for that reason that I came to writing and content creation in general.

I want to do and say things that are wholly from my experiences and thoughts as they have been molded and shaped throughout my life.

While I want to learn from those who are on this path with me, I also don’t want to become a caricature or parody of myself in the process by trying to please everyone.

This is about building my method to best express myself through writing, images, and videos…video being the ultimate form of clear communication of my ideas.

Takeaway

To recap:

• Self-limiting beliefs require effort to deconstruct

• Self-limiting beliefs are a boat anchor for content creators

• Self-limiting beliefs are best removed by reconnecting with your inner child

Don’t underestimate the power of innocence.

If you’re a parent, you don’t take this for granted.

If you aren’t, get a puppy or a kitten or any other animal of choice and raise it from a young age. You’ll get an approximation of some sort.

Here’s this week’s actionable exercise:

• What are some of your limiting beliefs?

• How long have you held them?

• What are the chances that they stem from your fears?

This is an exercise in facing your constructed identity.

Thought of the week:

An Inspirator looks into their own weaknesses to find their origination and strive to move beyond them.

Next week, I will share what I learned from that interview…sorry life stuff delayed it!

Vince

P.S. I’m toying with the idea of writing these super long-forms on Medium and moving to a daily email type idea for this newsletter in the future.

P.P.S. I’m going to create a lead magnet for various aspects of what I’ve learned such as writing, image generation, and video production.