Limiting Beliefs

Lets talk about limiting beliefs…

Do you have any?

How would you figure out if you do? 

We can be masters of creating limiting beliefs by inventing story lines that we train our mind to believe. We rehearse the story or invented belief and we leave them to continuously run in our subconscious mind….For instance my fourth grade teacher told me I was a bad test taker, hmmm was I really a bad test taker or could I have had an off morning before school and my attention was diverted?

Thanks to my buying into what my teacher said I spent most of my life terrified each time I had to take a test (even when I knew the answer I would second guess myself) due to my created limiting belief. Once I consciously shed that notion (well into college) I became a high GPA student, wow!

How did that happen?

Just because someone else says something we don’t have to believe that it is true. That includes things we tell ourselves!

Can 10 people say something encouraging and positive about you and the one person who says something negative takes you down and you are ready to give up?  Do you see other people who are successful and you automatically think you could never measure up? The comparing game starts and segues into the limiting belief. The power and energy that was supposed to be invested into something that was important is handed over and often times to no one.

Why do we give so much power and energy to limiting beliefs?

Often times we create self –intimidation through limiting beliefs. Did you give a speech in school and make a mistake and everyone laughed? Did people criticize it? You start letting it control your abilities, allowing that experience to control your adult life even though it all happened back in fourth grade.

You begin to feel self-doubt and say things like:

“Oh my gosh they could be right”

“ I am going to just forget it, I’m not good enough”

“I tried to ride a bike and I have no balance”

“I tried to start a business and it failed, I’m no good at that”

and limiting belief is born.

Through out our lives we will also have those who uplift and encourage us and help us to believe in ourselves. The first time I road a horse I fell off and had the wind knocked out of me. My dad put me back up on the horse and said, “I know you can do this,” and I did. I lived on my horse, she became my best friend, imagine if I just gave up!

Not everyone will align with who you are…

what you believe in or what you want to accomplish. That does not mean they don’t love or care about you. They just aren’t into the same things or maybe their self intimidation and self doubt have created limiting beliefs for them that are so strong that they get projected onto you knowingly or unknowingly.

So what do you do if you find yourself holding on to a limiting belief?

You want to reverse it, replace it with an empowering belief. This will take consistency and dedication and then it will become second nature and is worth doing. Remember the limiting beliefs had grown over the years.

Do any of these sound Limiting Beliefs sound familiar? 

1. I don’t want to fall asleep because the nightmares will start. They always do.
2. Everyone is out to get everyone, especially me, no one can be trusted.
3. This is the most money I can ever make, I’ll never have a good paying job.
4. I can’t work out because I can’t lift weights, they are too heavy for me.
5. I’m not going to try that again (fill in the blank) it always turns out the same.
6. I’m not good at talking in front of people.
7. Why would they hire me? I know there are better people for that job.

Now try these Empowering practices to reverse them: 

1. At bedtime listen to a meditation, read something up lifting , turn off the phone and television at least one hour before you want to sleep.
2. Begin by trusting yourself first, lower the analytical mind that dissects everything down to the last neutron, listen to your gut your intuition, relax, take a chance on yourself.
3. Explore what you have great interest in and look at ways that you could integrate yourself in a position at that place. Is there a possibility to start and work your way up?
4. Use your own body weight as resistance instead of weights, walk or swim, do chair exercises, ride a stationary bike).
5. You can do anything you set your beliefs to, and you can crush yourself with limiting beliefs, it’s your choice.
6. Work with a speech coach, look at why you are afraid and face the fear.
7. Believe in yourself and create a new belief that says, “of course they want to hire me, I am great for that position.

Now go forth and kick those limiting beliefs in the butt!