Table of contents
1. Introduction
2. Identifying Limiting Beliefs
3. The Science behind limiting beliefs
4. Transforming Limiting Beliefs into empowering ones
5. Practical Strategies to Break Free from Limiting Beliefs
6. The Importance of Consistency and Patience
7. Conclusion
1. Introduction
Our belief system is pretty powerful. Beliefs are the thoughts that we have over and over in our heads each day. This means that they govern our day and become rules for how we live our lives. These beliefs or rules can be empowering, meaning they lift you up and move you forward to accomplishing your goals. Or they can be destructive beliefs that make life more challenging for you. In this post, I will focus on limiting beliefs..
What are limiting beliefs?
Limiting beliefs are the thoughts that create major barriers to your goal achievements and prevent you from living through your values.
How limiting beliefs impact your personal growth?
Limiting beliefs creates barriers to your personal growth in the following ways:
- They stop you from getting what is possible
- They deny you of what you are capable of
- They rob you of what you deserve in life
Why is it important for you to overcome your limiting beliefs?
It is important to overcome your limiting beliefs because your future depends on it. Shifting your beliefs is crucial to what you will accomplish in your life. It is essential.
As you navigate this post, here is a key question for you to keep in mind: What have I told myself my whole life that has limited my ability to achieve my goals to this point?
In this post, I will also talk about how to identify limiting beliefs? The science behind limiting beliefs. Strategies to overcoming your limiting beliefs. How limiting beliefs shape your thoughts and actions. The importance of Consistency and patience in overcoming your limiting beliefs.
2. Identifying Limiting Beliefs
Its one thing to know about limiting beliefs but it is another thing to consciously identify them. What are the things that you are saying to yourself that are hurting you? Here are some common examples of limiting beliefs:
I need to be rich to be happy
If you equate money with happiness, I can guarantee that you will never be happy. Using money as a measuring stick for your happiness will only push you further into unhappiness or disappointment if you don't end up with enough money.
Success takes a long time
With limiting beliefs, the things you believe become almost like self prophesying statements. If you believe that success takes a long time, don't be surprised when success takes a long time.
I can't trust anyone
This one is not only limiting but it is also not human. You don't have to trust everyone but you have to trust someone at some point. With this limiting belief, you also run the risk of not trusting yourself.
I never get what I want
The word never by definition means that at no time in the past or future will you get something. It is such a harsh word nestled in untruth.
Other people are better than me
Other people can't be better than you at everything. You have your gifts and others have their own.
I'm bad at everything?
Again another general statement which is just as dangerous as the word never. How can you be bad at everything?
Self-reflection techniques to uncover limiting beliefs
In order for you to change your limiting beliefs, you must first identify what they are in the first place. Here are some techniques you can use to help you to uncover those unwanted beliefs:
Score your goals
Step 1: Think about an important goal in your life
Step 2: Rate the following statements on a scale from 1 to 10(1 means that you don't believe the statement, 10 means that you absolutely believe the statement)
Step 3: Evaluate your scores. Less than a 7 shows that you have a limiting belief.
Step 4: Repeat this process for any other area in your life.
Ask yourself important questions about your relationship, your career or job or about your life in general. Assign a score to each question allowing you to see visually what your limiting beliefs are.
Identify the blocks
Another technique you can use to uncover your limiting beliefs is to list the blocks.
Why do you think you are not achieving your goals?
What do you think is stopping you from achieving your goals?
Importance of awareness: how limiting beliefs shape thoughts and actions?
It is important for you to create awareness around what you believe. Especially your limiting beliefs. They have the ability to shape your thoughts and ultimately your actions. Here is why awareness is important:
Achievement thief
Limiting beliefs is like a thief in the night. They prowl around waiting to steal your achievements. They stop you from achieving your goals.
Rule Makers
If you start believing something in particular, that thing tend to take over and start creating rules for your behavior. Rules that dictate what they think you are capable of or what is possible in your life.
Long-term resident
You are probably not aware of how long you have been living with your limiting beliefs. They most likely started from when you were a child and took up residence and followed you into adulthood. Think back, you might see the connection between something from your childhood or past and how you think now. This leads me into my next section. More about how limiting beliefs are formed!
3. The Science behind limiting beliefs
With everything, there is usually a science behind them and limiting beliefs are no different. I hinted at it above about childhood but let me dive deeper into the origins of limiting beliefs to help you understand how your limiting beliefs might have popped up too. In order to understand the nature of limiting beliefs, it is important to understand how we create beliefs in the first place. It is believed that there is a period of time in our life called the Imprint period- a period between the age of birth and 7 years old. During this time we create different kinds of imprints. For example emotional beliefs or emotional imprints. Imprints are shaped during this period primarily by the key people in our lives such as parents or guardians. Which means that our beliefs are donated to us by the influential people in our lives. Once your beliefs are formed, they are held in the deepest part of our unconscious mind and we sometimes forget that we can change.
The power of our beliefs
Your beliefs as I have mentioned are pretty powerful, they have the ability to impact all of your achievements and even impact your health. They can act as self-fulfilling prophecies. If your beliefs are limiting, then you will act in a way to fulfill your belief. The good news is that you can change your beliefs giving them more power and purpose.
4. Transforming Limiting Beliefs into empowering ones
How can you transform your negative beliefs? What techniques can you use to reframe negative thoughts? The answer to these questions will lie in how deeply rooted your beliefs are in the first place. Here is what you can do starting today.
Empowering Shift
If you are able to have negative or limiting beliefs about yourself then you need to make space for empowering thoughts. This is what happens when you begin to change your internal dialogue. Begin to use empowering words such as:
"I am capable of solving any problem,"
"I am good at..."
"I know that I can..."
"I am really good at being..."
"I kick challenges to the curve."
Notice that the language in each of the above creates an empowering energy. It allows you to see yourself in a can-do type of way.
Related content: 5 Ways to Shift Your Mindset and Embrace a Positive Mindset
Turnaround questions
The Turnaround technique allows you to ask yourself some really powerful questions. These questions create the framework for new beliefs and establish the foundation for a new you.
- Who would I be without a particular limiting belief or beliefs
- What are the possibilities without my negative beliefs?
- What choices could I make with my limiting beliefs?
- What would the impact on my life be without my limiting beliefs?
Replace them
Another great way to change your beliefs is to focus on replacing them. Here is a FREE exercise worksheet you can use to table your limiting beliefs one by one. Use this free worksheet to name and replace your limiting beliefs.- Click here
Targeted focus
Now that you have created beliefs by replacing the old ones, you will have to make an intentional effort to focus on them. Write them down and put up your new beliefs on the wall if you have to. The point is to make the new beliefs a focal point in your life. If you don't focus on your new beliefs, the old ones will want to creep back into your thoughts. Especially on those difficult days.
The role of visualization and affirmation in shifting mindset
I touched on visualization a bit above when I said you should put your new beliefs on the wall. Having constant visual representation of your new beliefs can have a tremendous effect on whether they stick or not. Beyond this is your ability to practice daily visualization of what you see happening in your life. Whether it is through writing it down or through meditation or prayer. Take time each day to close your eyes and watch the life you want to see play out inside your head. See the things that you want to happen and they will happen. Start to affirm how you want to see yourself each day. This will be mind blowing!
5. Practical Strategies to Break Free from Limiting Beliefs
I've mentioned several ways that you can identify and replace your limiting beliefs to create empowering beliefs. Here are some other ways to break free and finally embrace a more positive disposition.
Self-awareness and Journaling
One of the biggest reasons why you might not be growing in your beliefs or adopting new more positive ones is your lack of self-awareness. A lot of people don't really know themselves. Self-awareness is huge on the growth spectrum. What does it mean then to be self-aware? Here is a good list of how to know if you are self-aware:
Related content: The power of gratitude: How to Transform your Life with a Simple Shift?
- You understand your thoughts and emotions
- You understand your values and how they align with your goals
- You know what you want and what you don't want
- You are open to constructive feedback about yourself
- You are calm and very leveled in your emotions
A good way to come into your self-awareness is through journaling. Try and write down your thoughts on a daily basis. What happened? How did it make you feel? How did you handle it? This will allow you to see your growth or lack of growth through your written words.
Challenging negative self-talk
Sometimes you will get into a rut where the limiting beliefs that you are used to just won't leave you alone. In this situation you have to get aggressive with them and challenge your self-talk. If you have a limiting thought, stop and ask yourself: "Is this belief really true." For example, if you tell yourself that "I am bad at everything." Stop for a second and ask yourself "how can I or anyone be bad at everything." That belief is virtually impossible.
Baby Steps SMART Goals
Another strategy is to create small or baby step SMART goals. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely goals. The key is to start off small, so that you can get a boost of confidence once you achieve your goal.
Related content: SMART Goals Worksheet- Click here.
Seek Support
This strategy is key especially if you feel you have tried to do it on your own and can't seem to get rid of your limiting beliefs. Reach out to people in your life or your circle and let them help you. It could be a coach, a mentor or a positive best friend. Sometimes, the way others see us is not the way we see ourselves. They can help you to fine tune what you think you are capable of..
Related content: 10 Reasons why Mentorship are Important in 2024 and beyond
6. The Importance of Consistency and Patience
Your limiting beliefs most likely started from when you were younger or were formed at a very young age. So it might take some time to completely get rid of them and replace them with new ones. It will take the following three things to remain consistent and patient:
Commitment
Stay committed to growth. Don't stop learning new ways to build yourself up. Take courses, read insightful literature or attend seminars on personal growth. As I mentioned, self-awareness is a big part of how you relate to yourself. Commit to getting to know yourself more and better. Don't give up on growth and it won't give up on you.
Baby steps
Growing is a gradual process, also see getting rid of your limiting beliefs as a gradual process as well. Take baby steps and you will find your footing. But stay committed.
Celebrate
It is okay for you to celebrate your small victories and milestones along the way. Give yourself an appropriate reward for your progress. Or pat yourself on the shoulder for making progress. It is completely okay to celebrate yourself.
7. Conclusion
Limiting beliefs have the ability to take away your true potential. They are formed pretty early in life and follow you into your adult life. For this reason, it is important to address them head on, challenge them if you have to and start the journey to creating empowering beliefs.
It is essential to treat your journey as a process. Take baby steps that will allow you to stay committed and celebrate your victories and milestones.
You owe it to yourself to reach your full potential, don't give up, you can do this. Limiting beliefs have been lying to you for years, it's time to let them go. If you will, I will too..
Start today by replacing each of your limiting beliefs one at a time.
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