A close friend of mine, Belinda, recently completed her university studies. She graduated with first-class honors and she was so excited about her achievement. She was now stepping out into the world of employment. She had just made 25 years of age and was looking forward to her next phase in life as she was starting in the employment world.

 

Early the following morning after her graduation, I received a message from her asking, “Blenda, what advice would you give your 25-year-old self?” Her question caught me off guard! I did not know what response to give as I was going through a period of self-reflection. Wondering what I was here on earth for. I was feeling a little depressed. I felt like I had stagnated for too long and was seeing no progress in my life.

 

As I pondered on Belinda’s question, I quickly realized that people were looking up to me to learn from my life experiences. This was such a timely question that sent me reflecting. I quickly went back in time to when I was 25 years old. I had already started working then and had been 3 years in employment. I was one of the youngest employees then and everyone treated me that way. I kind of seemed to enjoy it, especially since I was also the youngest at home and enjoyed all the pampering. Little did I know that this would actually affect my career life. I soon became stagnated and remained in the same position for more than 5 years.

 

At that moment I remembered a verse in the Bible that says, “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12. I had wasted my years with a fallacy that I was still young and therefore could not take on leadership roles.

 

Secondly, I felt everyone else was better than me since they were older and could therefore not compete with them. Even when I applied for the jobs, I still had that mentality within me that I was young and would therefore fail to make it. I failed to realize that all things are possible for they that believe (Mark 9:23).

 

It was then that I realized that all that was affecting my position in my life then was all in my head. I had self-doubt and a belief that all the people around me were better than me and so was it. As a man thinketh so is he (Proverbs 23:7).

 

All these and more are limitations we have in our lives that prevent us from fulfilling our potential. For more tips, please look out for my book, “Overpowering a Toxic Mindset: Restructure your Thought Patterns.”