Everyone experiences negative commentary in their mind, especially as they start and operate a business. This is a prevalent phenomenon amongst nurse practitioner entrepreneurs, I hear about it all the time from newbie entrepreneurs to seasoned ones. I believe this stems from our fear of failure, which is what drives us to succeed. These negative thoughts are what I call “limiting beliefs.”
“I am just a nurse practitioner; I cannot start my own practice.”
“I only make $55 an hour, where am I going to get the money to start my own practice?”
“I am not smart enough to venture on my own and build my own practice.”
“I grew up on the poorer side, so I will always be poor.”
“I make $90,000 a year; I can’t make any more than that.”
“Only business savvy people with an MBA can start a business.”
“Everyone in my area has Medicaid, no one will pay cash for medical services!”
And so forth and so forth…
These are LIMITING BELIEFS and will do nothing but hold you back. Limiting beliefs are essentially beliefs that limit your potential.
These negative thoughts are your primitive mind playing tricks on you. Our minds evolved to always err on the side of caution. Most of our modern-day anxieties are truly unfounded on reality. There is no saber tooth tiger going to kill you. There will not be a famine that strikes your crop. We live in a modern-day society with modern-day amenities and luxuries.
These anxieties will only hold you back from true success.
I still have limiting beliefs even though I have achieved a certain level of business success. My primitive mind tells myself that I cannot do certain things even though my logical mind knows I can.
“I have no new patients scheduled at my men’s health practice this week; it must be failing.”
“I didn’t receive a comment on that article I posted yesterday, no one must be reading Elite NP anymore.”
“Revenue dropped this month; my practice must be in the downhill spiral of failure now!”
“I should open up a stand alone IV drip lounge, but no one in my town is going to come to that.”
And so forth and so forth…
This is part of the human condition. Everyone has limiting beliefs. But do you know what separates successful people from people who just stay stagnant in life?
THE SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE DO NOT ALLOW THESE LIMITING BELIEFS TO GUIDE THEIR LIFE.
Have you ever heard someone say “I grew up poor, my family doesn’t know anything else, so I have to stay poor” or some sort of variation of that statement? I know I have numerous times. It boils my blood every time I hear that nonsense. Weak people let those types of beliefs hold them back… I grew up poor and I plan on being a millionaire in the next ten years.
I chose to make a difference in my life, as have hundreds of other nurse practitioners out there that are building successful and profitable practices.
Do not let the naysayers tell you that you will fail.
Do not let your primitive mind fill your soul with anxiety.
DO NOT LET LIMITING BELIEFS GET THE BEST OF YOU.
You are better than that. All of us are better than that.
Do you want to separate yourself from the rest of herd? Do you want to become a successful nurse practitioner that lives on their own terms? If so, do not let those limiting beliefs hold you back.
6 Responses
What a great article! Thank you so much for this tid bit of encouragement! I am starting my own business and have some lofty dreams for the future that scare me and make me second guess my ability to succeed. But you are right, I must leave those limiting beliefs as just thoughts and not allow those thoughts to dictate my ability to succeed.
You are 100% correct Veronica, you cannot let those beliefs limit your forward movement. Tell yourself that they are nonsense and then focus on the actions you need to take to succeed. Thank you for your comment and good luck with your business!
Thank you Justin for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I relate to this article and am working to overcome these thoughts while deciding on my direction.
Thank you for the comment. Keep pushing through the limiting beliefs, they will hold you back.
Thank you for your article. I agree with you concerning limiting beliefs. I am guilty and somehow I have built it into my subconscious mind. I didn’t realize until someone close to me pointed out that I am “negative.” That was shocking to me because I have always prided myself as not dwelling in negativity and self-pity. I relocated to another state when NP jobs were difficult to come by in my former state of residence. I secured a job quite alright, but the credentialing process is getting too long. At this point, without a salary and squatting with a friend, personally it is difficult for me not to feel anxious. This position is not desirable. I give praise to God for everything He has done in my life up until this point and what He will continue to do in my life. I am still human. I am seriously working on not limiting myself or think of my situation in negative manner. I see this situation as temporary and in the right direction; opened my mind the more and see it as a learning process.
We all go through difficult times, it is part of life. You will get through this by focusing on the future and to continue doing what you need to do to build that life you desire through relocating (like you did, well done) and building your own business. You are just in the infancy stage, which is the most difficult part. Once you blossom from this, the skies the limit!