We moved into our house in 2009. It was our first house after living in a series of condos. We love this house. It has felt like home since day one.

I still remember walking into the primary bedroom bathroom and loving the glass-walled shower. It was a sign. I always wanted one of these. I hate plastic curtains.

When I went to take my first shower, however, I was so disappointed. The water pressure sucked! It was like a slow drip that had you standing forever just to get your shampoo out of your hair.

The bathroom is on the second floor. The hot water heater is in the basement. So, I assumed it was a physics issue; a question of the piping having difficulty pushing water against gravity. It was so bad that I started using the basement bathroom because it had incredible water pressure.

Not long ago, a plumber helped us with a leaky toilet. (A leak I created with my incredible handyman skills, but that is another story…) While he was there, we asked him to take a quick look at the shower.

He removed the shower head, and within two minutes, he removed a 2 cm circular piece of green plastic, also known as a flow restrictor. After putting everything back together, we tested the shower, and voila: the water flowed.

Thirteen years! We have been tolerating a shitty shower for thirteen years! (First world problem, yes. But the point is, after asking an expert and giving him five minutes to fix the problem, we debunked a false assumption that relegated me to the basement.

In five minutes, our paradigm of what was possible was turned upside down. We assumed fixing the problem would be some colossal job involving a new water pump or new pipes, or I don’t know what. (Our deep construction expertise is on display here…) 

Then, as per usual, it got me thinking. What other flow restrictors influence my beliefs, feelings, and actions? What kind of flow can I release with a few subtle or not-so-subtle shifts in my life?

For me, that looks like stopping the fear of putting my voice out into the world. Releasing the fears of: 

• Who am I to be writing, blogging and doing videos? 
• What if the world hates it? 
• What if they think I’m full of shit?
• Another middle-aged white guy who thinks the world needs to hear what he’s thinking…

Just writing that pisses me off that I am recoiling into my smaller self. Fucking shower.

How about you?

• Are there any conscious or unconscious self-limiting beliefs holding you back? 
• Any flips of a switch that could help you share your genius with the world?

Let’s do this!