Remove the Shackles of Success:
A Handbook for Unbound Growth
Outrageous Goals with Simple, Deliverable, and Compassionate Steps to Get There
Introduction:
Success can be liberating, but it can also feel like a set of golden handcuffs—binding us to expectations, routines, and standards that may no longer serve us. We often feel pressured to maintain the image or performance that brought us success, even when it limits our growth, creativity, and happiness.
In this workbook, you’ll explore how to break free from the constraints of past successes, redefine what success means to you, and embrace the freedom to set outrageous goals while taking simple, compassionate steps to get there. You’ll also learn to enjoy failure, reframe discomfort as opportunity, and recognise that there is no growth without discomfort.
Section 1: Recognising the Shackles of Success
Success can sometimes narrow our vision. Once we succeed, we tend to assume that we must follow a particular path—whether in a career or in life—almost like being on autopilot. We stop exploring and experimenting because we feel obligated to maintain that same level of success. But what if we reframed that?
Success doesn’t need to define our future. Instead, we can take only what serves us from it and leave behind what doesn’t.
Exercise: Identifying Your Shackles and Reframing Success
What aspects of your success feel like obligations rather than choices?
Where do you feel that success has narrowed your options or put you on autopilot?
How can you reframe this? What parts of your success can you take with you, and what can you let go of?
Journalling Prompts:
Write about a time when your success felt limiting. How did it affect your personal or professional growth?
What aspects of success have you held onto that no longer serve your vision for the future?
How can you shift your perspective to make success feel expansive rather than restrictive?
Section 2: Reinventing Yourself—You Are Successful at Being Successful
One of the most empowering truths is that we’ve already successfully reinvented ourselves multiple times. Whether it was changing schools, switching careers, becoming parents, or navigating other life transitions, we have adapted and grown. This shows that we are successful at being successful, and we can continue to evolve.
Exercise: Make a List of Your Reinventions
Write down times in your life when you’ve successfully reinvented yourself.
Consider transitions like career changes, moving to a new place, or taking on a new role in life. Reflect on how you navigated those challenges and emerged stronger.
Reflection Prompts:
What was the most significant reinvention in your life, and how did it shape your current perspective on success?
How do you feel when you reflect on your ability to reinvent yourself?
What strengths did you rely on during these transitions, and how can you apply them to future changes?
Section 3: Setting Outrageous Goals
The fact that we’ve set and achieved goals and reinvented ourselves successfully many times in the past means we can aim even higher with “outrageous goals”. This isn’t about manifestation—it’s about using cognitive bias to our advantage. When we look for red cars, we start noticing them everywhere. Likewise, when we remove the blinkers conditioned by both success and perceived failure, we begin to see the solutions and opportunities that are right around us. Step on the path, and the path will reveal itself!
Exercise: Aiming High with Outrageous Goals
What’s one outrageous goal you’ve been too afraid to set because it seemed unrealistic or too far outside your comfort zone?
Imagine removing the blinkers of past success and perceived failure—what opportunities do you see now?
Action Plan:
Set one outrageous goal and write down how you will start looking for opportunities to achieve it. The more you focus on it, the more opportunities will reveal themselves.
Reflection Prompts:
What limiting beliefs have been stopping you from setting more outrageous goals?
How does aiming high make you feel? Excited, nervous, or both?
How will you use cognitive bias to recognise opportunities in your daily life?
Section 4: Learning to Enjoy Failure and Embrace Discomfort
There is no growth without discomfort. Success can sometimes make us risk-averse, but failure is not something to avoid—it's something to embrace. When we learn to enjoy failure and see discomfort as a sign of growth, we can make bolder, more fulfilling choices.
Exercise: Reframing Discomfort as Opportunity
Think of a recent time when you felt discomfort in pursuing a goal. How did you react to it?
How can you reframe that discomfort as an opportunity for growth?
Action Plan:
Next time you feel discomfort, recognise it as a sign that you're pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone. Write down how this discomfort is helping you grow.
Journalling Prompts:
How has discomfort shown up in your journey toward growth, and how did you handle it?
What past failures have taught you valuable lessons, and how did they lead to new opportunities?
How can you make friends with discomfort and use it as a compass for growth?
Section 5: Connecting to Passion and Flow
Success sometimes pulls us away from the things that bring us joy and ease. Instead of being driven by passion, we can become trapped in maintaining our status. But when we reconnect to what feels joyful and easy—what brings us into a state of flow—we align ourselves with opportunities that truly excite us. The feeling of joy is your compass.
Exercise: Identifying What Brings You Joy
What activities make you lose track of time? What feels effortless and joyful?
Make a list of three things that bring you into a state of flow. Is it a hobby? A type of work? An interaction with others?
Action Plan:
Identify one passion or activity that brings you into flow, and commit to making it a bigger part of your life. Work backwards from that feeling—how can you bring more of it into your daily routine?
Reflection Prompts:
When was the last time you felt completely in flow? How did it feel?
What small changes can you make today to integrate more flow into your routine?
How does pursuing your passions change your perspective on success?
Section 6: Compassionate Steps Toward Outrageous Goals
Outrageous goals fuel our passion, but the journey requires simple, deliverable, and compassionate steps. Each small step moves you closer to your vision without the pressure of perfection. You don’t need to have the entire path figured out—just take the first step, and the next will appear. It’s absolutely about growth but also about enjoying the journey. That way we don’t give up!
Exercise: Creating Simple, Compassionate Steps
What is the smallest step you can take toward your outrageous goal?
How can you ensure that each step feels aligned with your values and is kind to yourself?
Action Plan:
Break your outrageous goal into 3-5 small, achievable steps. Focus on the next step rather than the entire journey.
Reflection Prompts:
What are three small actions you can take today to move closer to your goal?
How can you approach your goals with self-compassion, even when progress feels slow?
How do you balance ambition with kindness toward yourself on this journey?
Section 7: Celebrating Progress Over Perfection
As you begin to shift your vision and take compassionate steps, it’s important to celebrate your progress, not perfection. Every step forward, no matter how small, brings you closer to your outrageous goal.
Exercise: Tracking and Celebrating Progress
What small wins have you had recently that move you toward your new goals?
How can you celebrate these wins, acknowledging that progress is more important than perfection?
Reflection Prompts:
What small wins can you celebrate this week that signify your progress?
How can you focus on progress rather than perfection in your daily life?
How does celebrating each step forward help you stay motivated and fulfilled?
Conclusion: Embracing Outrageous Goals and Compassionate Steps
Success doesn’t have to narrow your vision or keep you on autopilot. By reframing your definition of success, recognising your capacity for reinvention, and setting bold, outrageous goals, you can break free from the shackles of past achievements. Focus on the joy, flow and opportunities that excite you, and take simple, compassionate steps toward your new vision.
Remember, it’s not about maintaining past successes—it’s about evolving, daring to dream bigger, and enjoying the journey every step of the way.