Imagine replacing a limiting belief with one that makes life easier and enables you to be more successful. How would you feel?
“A limiting belief is one that causes life to be less than completely satisfying”
But, why do we have limiting beliefs in first place?
Self Limiting Beliefs come from a variety of sources as well as from our own interpretation of the world around us.
A Short Story to Better Understand the Reason
There is a story about a man who, as he was passing some elephants, suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” the trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”
The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.
Here are top 3 common reasons for having self-limiting beliefs!
Most of us are pretty rational – we’re not going to spend a lot of time on something that we believe is doomed for failure. Why would you even try to lose weight if you genuinely believed that everyone in your family was destined to be overweight?
Our Childhood – During the first 7 or so years of our life, we soak up everything we hear and our young brains believe it to be true. During these years we develop our most powerful, and often times most life-limiting, beliefs that can stick with us for the rest of our lives.
Parent’s influence – They probably only wanted what’s best for you, but due to their own cultural and social hang-ups, they might have damaged your personality in some way. Criticisms, comments, overbearingness, excessive expectations, etc.
However, some of these beliefs hold us back in life and keep us in a state of fear and ignorance.
Typical limiting beliefs take the form of:
- “I can’t do that because”
- “I don’t deserve that because”
- “If I do this something bad is going to happen”
- “I can’t do this because people will think”
- “I am not good enough…”
- “I don’t deserve that…”
I’m sure some of those statements sound familiar. I know I’ve said them on more than one occasion. So, what do we do now?
Well, read further to discover ‘7 Step Break Through Method’ to overcome any belief that is not serving you.
I carried around numerous limiting beliefs. They come from a variety of sources as well as from my own interpretation of the world around me. Probably the same case with you.
“You begin to fly when you let go of self-limiting beliefs and allow your mind and aspirations to rise to greater heights.”
Brian Tracy
Fortunately, I could eliminate limiting beliefs and replace them with beliefs that empower me – well, there were some self-learnings and few came from expert help. I consolidate them in simple way, once you start practising it, the process becomes easier.
Here is what I call – “Break Through Method” – 7 Steps to identify and banish self-limiting beliefs.
Step#1: Ask yourself if the belief is true.
- Read the belief aloud and ask, “Do I really know that this is true?”
- Answering ‘no’ to yourself might seem silly, but simply stating that the belief might not be true gives you permission, subconsciously, to continue and examine the belief more objectively.
Step#2: Determine the source of the belief.
- How did I get this belief? Where did it come from?
- Sometimes we believe things with a lot of certainty, but when we really think about it, we’re not sure why we believe it. If you’re going to base your decisions around a belief, that belief should have either come from an expert or a lot of personal experience.
- An expert should be someone that started where you are and then achieved what you want to achieve. In my case, met wonderful souls along the way who helped in banishing my limiting beliefs.
Step#3: Your declaration.
- Declare to yourself, “I don’t believe this anymore. It’s not true.”
- Now look for proof to show yourself that it’s not true.
Step#4: Imagine being free from the belief.
Ask Yourself, What would your life be like without this belief?
Step#5: Replace the belief.
- Find another belief that counteracts the old belief.
- Getting rid of the limiting belief is good, but eliminating it and replacing it with something positive is great!
Step#6: Find evidence for the new belief.
- Find evidence that this new belief is valid.
- Keep adding evidence until you feel comfortable with the new belief.
Step#7: Test yourself.
- Observe your feelings, behavior, and results after replacing the belief.
- Once you’ve eliminated the old belief and replaced it with something you like better, you’ll feel and behave differently, producing more pleasing results!
By systematically going through all of your limiting beliefs, it’s possible to dramatically improve your life. Always remember that new limiting beliefs will occur over time, and it’s important to check yourself for these new limiting beliefs.
One of the limiting beliefs that was holding me for very long time was ‘Am not enough’. And I am successfully manage to overwrite this with ‘I’m perfect just the way I am’.
Life can be relatively easy and simple. Deal with your mental obstacles and you’ll see those are the biggest obstacles you have.
Look at your limiting beliefs today – your life will never be the same!
Some additional ways to break free from beliefs which are no longer serving you including tapping, working with expert / coach, following appropriate procedure or regular meditation rewriting your old beliefs.