How I Overcome My Limiting Beliefs

Beliefs have the power to create or destroy me.

Beliefs are the stories in my head that shape my thinking and actions.

Beliefs are either disempowering or empowering.

They enable me to flourish or live a self-limiting life, holding me back from achieving my goals and causing me to waste my energy in all the wrong places.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts,

Your thoughts become your words,

Your words become your actions,

Your actions become your habits,

Your habits become your values,

Your values become your destiny.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

I made many mistakes, struggled, and used to regret things in my past. But I am not my mistakes, I am not my struggles, these are disempowering stories I told myself for years, and they were never beneficial.

Most beliefs I used to have about myself were untrue, destructive, and limiting.

When I first started to change or dissolve some of my disempowering beliefs, I Started by changing my behavior, which ultimately changed my life.

This process starts with discovering false beliefs. First, then, can I begin to reframe all my disempowering thoughts.

I can choose to create a meaning that is disempowering or empowering.

The choice is mine.

How are limiting beliefs formed?

In short, limiting beliefs are formed through my life experiences, and some of the most powerful of these I developed during childhood.

They begin in my interactions with others — when I
get upset because I do something wrong or don’t do something the way people expected of me.

I attribute meaning to such events, which often leads to a physiological and emotional response.

The body keeps the score, and the human brain wants to prove that I am right, so I look for evidence proving my beliefs about myself are correct. Over time, I only look at the evidence I want to see. (confirmation bias)
I no longer see the many examples of when the limiting belief is not valid.

I reinforce my limiting beliefs making them stronger and stronger — so strong that I begin to be unsure of them until I finally believe them to be the truth.

These beliefs are fundamental because they give me a sense of certainty about how I should act and what I should avoid.

The only thing I forget is that it’s just my distorted interpretation — often of a single event in time, in the past.

Identify and reframe limiting beliefs

Most limitations directly result from my limiting beliefs, and possibilities become boundless when I learn how to reframe limiting beliefs.

Some of the most common limiting beliefs I encounter in young people every day are:

→ I’m not good enough

→ My mistakes and failures are bad

→ I’m not important

→ I have to do or be perfect

→ Things will never work out

Fear of failure, lack of courage, Selling yourself short are linked to limiting beliefs.

“Performance equals Potential minus Interference.”

– TIMOTHY GALLWEY

The first step in a transformational process is identifying and reframing limiting beliefs, acknowledging that I am full of limiting beliefs, or in other words, leveling up my potential.

Take a piece of paper and answer the following questions:

→ How do I label myself or how?

→ Do others label me?

→ Do they label me as unreliable, lazy, worthless, or shy?

→ What do they say about me?

→ More importantly, what do I assume without asking?

→ What do I believe about my relationships to experience these arguments and conflicts?

→ What do I believe about my finances to experience all these hardships?

The labels I accept about myself make me think and respond in predetermined ways, triggering a chain reaction of behaviors, which then attract the very same events and circumstances in my life that I am currently experiencing.

Setting time aside to identify all the limiting beliefs I have within all areas of life, I will have a greater chance of moving beyond these beliefs in the future.

What beliefs do I have about:

→ My work and career

→ My health and well-being

→ My family, friends, and relationships

→ My money and finances

→ My learning and development

→ My role as a partner, parent, or sibling

→ My personal success

→ My life in general

I must consider all the limiting beliefs that I have in different areas of my life if I want to live a good life.

. . .

How I Overcome Limiting Beliefs

I overcame my limiting beliefs by questioning their validity, and I uninstalled the preinstalled program.

Things are not as they are, and they directly reflect my existing beliefs.

Several things have helped me transcend my limiting beliefs.

These are some ideas that I find helpful:

→ I unlearn a limiting belief by questioning the validity of my belief asking the question: How is this belief absurd?

→ I adjust my language, thoughts, and perspective about these beliefs

→ I deliberately check my habitual reactions and reactions to incidents and circumstances to identify what triggers my limiting beliefs

→ I identify negative long-term consequences of my beliefs which motivates me to take action

. . .

When I first started to apply these ideas in my life, I noticed a feeling of emptiness, or at least that is what I thought it was.

Overcoming a limiting belief creates space that can feel much like emptiness but makes no mistake. It is most definitely not emptiness- it is space, ready to be filled with something more valuable and meaningful.

Limiting beliefs are nothing else than a story in my head that I have made into a habit in one or more areas in my life.

In the same way, we never kick a habit, but instead, replace it with a new one. The next step is to cultivate new empowering beliefs that will replace the limiting belief.

NOTE TO SELF: What I focus on becomes stronger

How I Practice Empowering Beliefs

Having weakened my limiting beliefs, I am now ready to start cultivating empowering beliefs that will propel me forward with increased momentum towards my goals and objectives.

But first, I ask myself a series of questions that helps me identify the most important beliefs that will assist me in moving forward in my life:

→ What strengthening belief would I have to cultivate to make a positive difference in my life?

→ What must I believe in achieving my goals and objectives successfully in each area of my life?

→ What would I have to believe if I had already achieved all my dreams and ambitions?

These questions have helped me to identify the most important beliefs and have enabled me to move forward with my life.

Beliefs are a constant in my life, and there is no one-time fix, and my limiting beliefs are now gone.

Like all personal development, working with limiting beliefs is a never-ending ride. Sometimes it will suck big time, and other times I will find myself on top of the world.

Today I firmly believe that I am in charge of my life and can influence circumstances, that setback are only temporary, and every mistake is an opportunity for me to learn and grow.

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I wish the same for you, friend.

—

This post was previously published on Change Becomes You.

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