Today, we will cover the following topics around limiting beliefs:
What are Limiting Beliefs?
Limiting beliefs affect your idea of
• what you can do,
• what you can achieve,
• what others think of you, and
• what you think of yourself.
It also affects your understanding of how the world works. These distortions can create a cage of belief preventing you from reaching your goals, dreams, and potential.
They create a comfort zone that is almost impossible to get out of unless one of two things happen. The first is a life-changing event that just so happens to bust these beliefs. This could be a death of a loved one, cancer or serious illness, divorce, or other life-altering events. The other way this change occurs is through self-development. This is the active, intentional practice to try and make life better for yourself. It can come in the form of books, blog posts, seminars, or coaching/counseling. It can also come from conversations with friends where old ideas are challenged, and new ideas are considered. This work can also be called Shadow Work, Inner Child, and a variety of other names. It can include techniques like
- meditation,
- tapping,
- counseling
- NLP,
- hypnotism,
- affirmations, and
- prayer.
Regardless of what you call it or the tools you use, the basic outcome is of seeing the world differently and letting go of beliefs that no longer serve you.
A great way to identify your limiting beliefs are and learn to change them is to participate in my live Limiting Beliefs Program
This is a recorded session that is available on demand. Click here to learn more.
In these sessions, we do a relaxation exercise. Then notice the feelings/pain/discomfort in our bodies. We then remember back to the first time we remember this feeling and it often brings up an event from our early childhood. We then go through some processes to explore and release any decisions made at that time. The outcome is clarity about why we act the way we do. This clarity allows us to make informed decisions about how we want to show up in our lives. It allows us to make fast and easy changes in our lives without the struggle of fighting ourselves.
This is such a powerful exercise, and I am so glad to be able to share it with you. I am so excited about the breakthroughs that my clients are getting and the changes that will be available to you.
Types of Limiting Beliefs
Self-Image/ Overall Beliefs
Our beliefs about who we are powerful beliefs that often set in our childhood. If we listen to the voice in our heads, we can often identify some of these beliefs. The tone of our self-talk usually mimics how our parents talked to us. Repeating those words and those tones works to keep us trapped in our current circumstances. Some limiting Beliefs about Self Image are:
- I am so stupid
- Why do I always say the wrong things?
- I am not enough.
- I have to be perfect.
- It is not safe to be seen or heard.
- I am perfect and do not need to change.
- I do not have the time to work on myself.
Money:
Money is often an area where we have tangled beliefs. Between the influences of
- Our birth families,
- Peer pressure- Keeping up with the Jones (whoever they are),
- Advertising confirming that we are not enough, we don’t have enough, and that happiness is outside ourselves?
Is it any wonder we mixed up about money? Here are some of the more common limiting beliefs about money:
- Rich people are bad people.
- There is never enough.
- You only live once, sacrifice today for a better tomorrow.
- You only live once, spend money today.
Work:
The way that you look at work affects the way you show up. Do you see it as a life-sucking obligation, or do you see it as your opportunity to serve mankind and change the world? Your view will make a huge impact on how you experience it. In this case, the journey matters a lot more than the destination, especially since it consumes so much of our waking hours. Change the way you look at work, and you could be enjoying work more than you have before!
Here are some common limiting beliefs about work:
- I will never get my dream job.
- It’s impossible to make money doing what you love.
- My opinion isn’t important. No one listens to me.
- What I do is too hard.
- All the good-paying and jobs worth doing are all taken.
Relationships:
We, humans, are creatures of habit. We eat the same things. We go to the same places. We pick the same (type) of people to spend our time with. I have friends who have been married multiple times. But, each time they choose the same type of person and end up having the same type of issues. We make our choices in the area of relationships based mostly on emotion. Or worse if we ignore emotion and make a solely logical choice we can end up in an even worse place. Looking at our limiting beliefs can be a way out of this crazy looping. And into a relationship that is both emotionally fulfilling as well as safe, nurturing, and stable. Here are some common limiting beliefs about relationships.
- I will never find love.
- My family is always trying to keep me down.
- No one wants me.
- Putting yourself out there only results in getting hurt.
How to Overcome Limiting Beliefs?
So here is a crazy fact that I have learned:
It’s easier to let go of your limiting beliefs than it is to hold on to them.
It’s crazy because we work so hard to hold on to our beliefs. They are often so foundational that we can’t even see them. But once we are able to see them and then release them, it is amazing how things shift and life gets easier. Often is a variety of ways that we weren’t expecting. Life feels brighter and less of a burden.
Identify the belief
Beliefs can also be identified by reviewing a list of limiting beliefs. I was asked in a meditation to repeat “I am enough” and when I did that, I got very emotional. A clear clue that I had bumped up against a limiting belief. So here is my list of 100 limiting beliefs for you to review. If possible, read this list out loud and see if any of them strike an emotional chord with you.
Replace the belief
The next step is to replace the belief. Think about why this might have been true in the past but is not currently true for you. Finding a replacement belief and stating it to yourself whenever the voice in your head brings up the original belief. Here is an example
“I am so stupid” can be replaced with “everyone makes mistakes. It is not that big of a deal and I am not going to beat myself up over it”
Or ” I will never get that promotion” with “If I work diligently, then an opportunity will come to me. If not with this company, then with another company!”
Anchor the new belief
The third step is to anchor the new belief. One of my favorite ways is to use affirmations to the point of it being a mantra. An affirmation can be a mantra when you say it to yourself over and over every day. For example “I am a strong and capable woman” covers a multitude of limiting beliefs. If you tie saying this affirmation with an activity that happens several times a day such as going to the restroom, it can be very effective. After 30 days of this, your life will certainly be different!
Keep working
Step four in the process is to dig deeper. I have found that my subconscious mind will give me one belief to work on but keep several more hidden away. Going back through the process will bring up a different response or a different aspect that can then be understood and changed.
So, in closing, I would just like to caution you to be kind to yourself. These beliefs have been with you for a long time and changing them will be a process. Being hard on yourself will just make the process that much more difficult. Be a kind and understanding friend to yourself as you explore your beliefs and try to integrate new ones into your life.
I hope that you will join me for my Getting Out of Your Own Way: Overcoming Limiting Beliefs class and begin this journey to happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.
Keep dreaming,
