Anyway, following a couple of 20 mile races over recent weeks in training, I overheard some fellow runners discussing a marathon running phenomena known as ‘The Wall.’
Last year, when I was working on BBC1’s TV programme ‘Run For Glory’ I had to help the budding marathon runners to overcome the psychological effects of possibly hitting ‘the wall.’
In running terms, ‘the wall’ is whereby your body has used up most of its readily available fuel and is trying to find it from your muscles and other resources and if you have not been replacing that fuel throughout the race, your body can scream and shout and cause the runner a lots of issues - possibly leading them to stop being able to run at all. There is lots of TV footage of people writhing in agony because of this phenomena of ‘the wall.’
Why am I mentioning this then?
Well, of course, the wall is simply a metaphor for such a physiological occurrence. A wall is a powerful metaphor in many other aspects of personal development too and I wanted to use that metaphor for your benefit today.
Many, many people that I encounter or work with seem to get stuck by the same things in life. It is amazing. We all experience obstacles, barriers and things that impede our progress towards our goals and sometimes we simply give up instead of breaking through.
When diets fail us, or we lose motivation to exercise, or we do not reach a target set at work, or we cannot seem to earn enough money to make ends meet, or we can’t let go of a fear that we keep having… or whatever it is that we seem to keep running up against.
Step One: Make yourself comfortable in a place where you are not going to be disturbed. Get yourself nice and relaxed. Breathe comfortably, deeply and engage in the moment.
As I often say, use whatever form of relaxation you know or meditation technique, or trance inducing technique that you have to make your mind nice and receptive. Of course, even better, go get my self-hypnosis book and learn how to really create the optimal state for doing this in your mind.
Just close your eyes and imagine drifting inside your own mind and spend enough time relaxing, enjoying stillness to allow yourself to have a receptive state of mind. Have a think about something that you believe you need to overcome and have this in the back of your mind ready for later on in this process.
Step Two: Now as you relax, just reflect on your inner thoughts, not directing your thoughts, just observing them for a few moments. Become aware of what you are thinking and become aware of how you think. This might seem unusual, just observe yourself and let your beliefs, your abilities just roll around in your mind for a few moments. Then just have little think about how wonderful it is going to be to overcome limitations or blocks that may have been getting in the way of achieving dreams or goals that you have.
Basically, here is an opportunity to be still and gain a greater awareness of your true inner beliefs, the core beliefs that allow you to create what you truly want. Really allow yourself to be confident that you have the ability to overcome barriers that may have got in your way in the past. Just encourage yourself for some moments here.
Just comfortably expand your awareness and allow yourself to be receptive to what is coming up.
Step Three: From here onwards, you are going to use your imagination. "…but I’m no good at visualising things…" said in a whiney voice by someone out there.
You do not have to visualise these things in perfect pictures, you know that by now, just imagine them as best as you can. Or pretend that you are imagining them - that is just as good.
Imagine that there is a wall of some sort out there in front of you in the distance. As you get closer you may see the details of the wall; the colour of it, the texture, what it is made of. You may notice how big it is or how long it is too. Allow this wall to appear in front of you in whatever way feels and seems right for you.
If you do not see it, then just imagine it is there, you may just sense that it is there, you may have a ‘gut feeling’ about how large or how small this wall is in your mind.
Here is the thing… This wall represents that thing that has been stopping you in the past. It is that thing that prevented you from having what you want, from living out those dreams, impeding your progress or having what you truly want in your life.
This wall represents the thing that has kept on getting in the way of your progress. That you may have kept on running up against in the past.
Now move closer to the wall, and tune in to how you feel when you are faced with it. Maybe it is that familiar feeling you got in the past. Maybe you have not identified it in the past but you know that familiar feeling. Tune into that feeling as much as you can now.
As you think about that thing that you wanted to overcome (as decided upon in step one), and as you move closer to that wall, just realise what it actually feels like to have been stuck, when you may have been sabotaging your success, maybe you even felt the need to give up. Just get yourself aware of how it felt for that barrier to exist each time you got close to success in the past.
Step Four: Ask yourself what the real reason is that you want to overcome this barrier. A great way to do that is to look on the other side of the wall or look around it or maybe create or find a place to look through this wall.
Really think now, what if you were able to get past that wall? What is driving you to do this? What will it be like on the other side when you are there? What is waiting for you? What do you want to accomplish and achieve by freeing yourself of this wall?
So for a couple of moments, as you look beyond the wall, envision and imagine what is there on the other side of that wall.
How is it going to be when you are free of this wall? Maybe you take a moment here to imagine your life as you wish it would be… being successful in a certain area of your life, having freedom to live your dreams, to achieve certain fabulous goals that you want.
When you have really tuned in to this and you know what is waiting for you when you are free, then just imagine that you step back from the wall so that you are seeing it from a little bit of a distance.
Step Five: Shortly, that wall is going to answer your question - when you ask it what it represents. You want to know what it actually is that has been stopping you.
It may be some limitation within yourself or it may be a limitation learned or inherited from someone or something else. Or even an occurrence from earlier in your life that created a belief that led you to keep encountering this barrier in the past.
That all stops shortly though, doesn’t it?
Trust that all the answers are within you. The wall is going to tell you, or show you, what it is that it represents. Right now get a little bit closer to it, tune in to your thoughts, your feelings, your emotions and sensations.
Now move slowly nearer to the wall. Look closely and see if there is a word written on it, or maybe a sentence or a phrase to indicate to you what the wall is all about. Maybe the wall has a voice and the wall can tell you itself what it is that has kept holding you back in the past. Maybe instead the wall helps you notice a different sensation or feeling right now and you can put words to it to help you understand what it is.
Open your mind, trust yourself and let the right message come to you. Whether that means that you see it, hear it spoken, feel it or any other way that is right for the wall to communicate with you. Verify with the wall precisely what it represents, what it means, what is really is and get a sure idea of it in your mind, so that you really do know what it is.
It is important that you let this come of it’s own accord. Do not use your conscious mind to think what could or should have been creating this barrier in the past.
Step Six: Now for the clever bit. Go ahead and ask this wall what it needs to be released and removed from your mind. Ask it what is required from you or from life to allow you to be truly free to move forward in the way that you desire.
Get a dialogue going and ask the wall to indicate to you or tell you, or let you have the right information in any possible way of what it needs, or what has to happen so that the wall can be totally released from your mind and so that you can be free to move forward in the way you dream about.
Step Seven: Ok, here we go then. Imagine reaching deep inside of yourself to that special place within you where your inner resources are. That place where you know you can achieve wonderful things. Reach inside and find whatever it is that you need to bring that wall down. In your mind, go ahead and bash it down. Smash it, destroy it, scrub it out, and erase it in any way that feels right and satisfying to you. Have some fun here and discover how good it feels to have the freedom to move forward and be free of that old wall.
Use whatever power, whatever thoughts, whatever abilities or information you need and bring the wall down. Maybe you blow it up with explosives! Just release it in whatever way feels most suitable and satisfying for you.
Now look out into the clear horizon and see what is there now that you are free of that old wall. Imagining that your dreams are coming nearer now as a result of your actions.
Step Eight: Inside your mind celebrate. Shout a few "Woo-hoo’s" inside your mind. Get some fireworks going off. Maybe you remember other times when you really accomplished something you were proud of. Get that feeling and spread it throughout your body and let yourself feel really good. Get some excitement inside your mind and feel really wonderful to have removed that barrier form your mind and from your life.
When you have really filled yourself up with that wonderful feeling, you can just open your eyes and bring your awareness back to the place you are in.
Then go and take some action. Take a specific step that is undeniably convincing to you that you have let go of that old barrier, that old obstacle, that old wall. Give yourself some actual proof that you have let go of that old thing.
You see, with marathon runners, there is no actual physical wall. With the right preparation, the right training, the right attitude, the right actions, the wall is simply avoided and does not exist when you run a marathon.
Any wall or old barrier that may have existed in your mind in the past is just the same. It exists only in your mind. So go ahead and apply this method, then take some action to begin felling those walls that may have got in the way before. Shake them off and enjoy your freedom this week.
