Dealing With Limiting Beliefs
How Limiting Beliefs Are Born
When I was a teenager, I used to believe that everything would always go wrong for me. Not only would everything go wrong, but it would also happen at the worst possible moment. This belief was completely untrue. It didn't reflect reality and kept me stuck in a cycle of negativity and unhappiness that lasted well into my 20s. Fortunately, I eventually realized this belief wasn't serving me—it was holding me back from finding happiness and success. In fact, many people have limiting beliefs like this one which make them feel stuck or unhappy with their lives (e.g., they believe they're unlovable). In this article we'll explore how self-limiting beliefs work as well as ways you can improve your own life by replacing them with positive ones instead!
Limiting beliefs are thoughts that keep us from reaching our full potential. They can be formed in childhood by the words of parents, peers or authority figures, and they may be tied to experiences we’ve had or things we believe about ourselves.
Limiting beliefs are like chains: they hold us back from achieving our goals and dreams. The more limiting beliefs we have in place, the harder it is for us to move forward with confidence and assertiveness. If a person believes deep down that she can't succeed at something because her family was poor when she was growing up (this isn't an example), then that belief will hold her back in her career even if she has all the necessary skill sets needed for success...
Understanding Self-Limiting Beliefs
Limiting beliefs are a hidden culprit of your unfulfilled life. Limiting beliefs are internalized, often subconscious thoughts that you tell yourself about who you are and what your capabilities are. They can affect everything from the way we see ourselves to our overall outlook on life.
Most people don't realize they have limiting beliefs until it's too late, as these false assumptions have been ingrained in our brains for far too long—sometimes even since childhood!
But if you're ready to rewire yourself for success and happiness, read on: I've got some ways for uncovering those limiting beliefs before they start holding you back!
Replace negative beliefs with positive ones
One of the most important steps in the process of changing your limiting beliefs is to replace them with new, more empowering beliefs that are based on reality. Don't just accept what other people say about you or the world as truth—question everything! And if you find something that doesn't seem right, look into it and see if there are any facts or statistics to back up your new belief. If there aren't any (or if they don't make sense), then it's probably not true for you either!
Replacing limiting beliefs is a lot easier when you're able to be realistic about what others tell you you can achieve and how much change takes place over time. For example, someone might tell me that I can never pass algebra because I'm not good at math; however, if they had told me this five years ago when we couldn't afford classes and all my friends were taking algebra class together while I sat at home doing nothing because we had no money left after paying rent every month...well then maybe my confidence would have been less likely dampened by their comment instead of made stronger by knowing full well exactly why she was wrong! Another example would be where someone tells you "you'll never find love again" after your spouse died but then later discovering they were lying all along because they wanted us all to themselves (sorry friend).
Replacing Self-Limiting Beliefs
In order to begin dissolving self-limiting beliefs within yourself, it is important to understand how they can be replaced with more positive beliefs.
First, you must identify the self-limiting belief(s) that are holding you back from achieving your goals. If you find yourself thinking ‘I am not good enough’ or ‘I don't deserve this' when trying to achieve something new, then these may be your limiting beliefs. Once identified, write down some positive affirmations for each belief and repeat them daily until they become part of your core values. For example: “I am good enough and I deserve success in everything I do!” You should also try visualising yourself achieving what it is that you want—it can be helpful if someone else holds a mirror up so that you see yourself doing whatever it is that makes you feel great about yourself (i.e., dancing on stage with the Backstreet Boys! ;). These exercises will help reinforce positive thoughts about who you are as an individual as well as what you're capable of achieving in life."
Visualize Your Desired Outcome
Visualization is a powerful tool for achieving goals, but it doesn't work if you don't do it properly. Here are some tips to help you get started:
Visualize Your Desired Outcome. The most important part of visualization is creating a clear image of your desired outcome in your mind's eye. This is called an "anchor," and it should be specific and detailed enough that you can close your eyes and picture what success would look like for you. For example, if one of your goals is to get promoted at work, imagine being congratulated by the CEO on stage during an awards ceremony before all of your colleagues, friends and family members; or if one of your goals is to lose weight by next summer so that you're comfortable wearing shorts again then envision yourself standing behind a podium while accepting an award from People Magazine as their Sexiest Woman Alive.
Start With Small Steps Towards Your Desired Outcome. Once you've created an anchor for yourself, begin visualizing small steps towards achieving that goal rather than huge leaps—this will ensure that everything stays within reach while providing motivation along the way!
Understand That People Have Different Views of the World
You are not the only person who has ever thought, felt, or acted a certain way. The world is full of people with different opinions and experiences, which means that the way you see things might not be the only way anyone else sees them.
It's important to understand this because it will help you deal with people who have different perspectives than yours. You may think that your opinion is right and theirs is wrong—but as long as they have an opinion at all, and it is grounded in their truth, there is some truth in what they say (or else they wouldn't bother sharing their thoughts) because it is truth to them.
Determining How Your Beliefs Affect You.
Your beliefs are a form of knowledge, and like all knowledge they can be conscious or unconscious. Your beliefs are either positive or negative. Positive beliefs lead to positive outcomes; negative beliefs lead to negative outcomes.
You can determine how your limiting beliefs affect you by asking yourself the following questions:
Which of my current struggles do I think are due to other people?
How do I feel when someone else doesn't agree with me?
When did I first realize this belief was true for me?
Get the Facts.
Once you’ve done some research and found out what other people are doing in similar situations, it’s time to get the facts about your situation. There are several ways you can do this:
Talk to others who have been in a similar situation and ask them how they overcame their limiting beliefs. If someone has already gone through the process of overcoming limiting beliefs, they will be able to tell you what worked for them as well as what didn’t work.
Read books, articles and blogs about the subject at hand. If there is an author or blogger whose work resonates with you, it might be worthwhile taking a closer look at their website or social media page(s). You may find that they offer additional resources (such as books) which could help with your journey through self-awareness and personal development.
Do some research online by searching keywords related to the subject matter in question (e.g., “how do I overcome my fear of public speaking?” or “what are some strategies for overcoming my perfectionism?”).
The Power of Now
Live in the Present Moment.
Don't Worry About The Past, Don't Worry About The Future.
Focus on what you are doing right now. If you can’t change what happened in the past, then there is no point worrying about it. Also, don’t worry about the future either; it doesn't exist yet and so there's nothing we can do about it anyway! All we have is right now and if we spend all our time worrying about things that might happen someday or stressing over something that has already happened then we will miss out on enjoying our lives today!
Work Towards Reaching Your Full Potential.
It's ok to struggle and make mistakes, but don't let self-limiting beliefs hold you back. Don't let other people's limiting beliefs hold you back, either—and don't let your own limiting beliefs hold you back either! You can do anything you want if you put enough thought and effort into it. No one can stop you from becoming the person you dream of being or doing what you dream of doing!
It’s hard to let go of self-limiting beliefs, but as we’ve seen, it can be done. The first step is identifying your beliefs and then working to replace them with more positive thoughts about yourself and others. If that sounds like a lot of work for you, take heart: there are plenty of other ways to combat these negative thoughts and improve your mental health.
If you think that you're afflicted by some powerful limiting beliefs and that they are holding you back from accomplishing your goals, reach out and book a coaching session with me and let's get you "unstuck" and moving forward towards that dream life you deserve! Click here to schedule your session now.
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