Unsubscribing To Limiting Beliefs

Everyone grew up with limiting beliefs.

Whether people realise it or not, we have them deep inside.

Growing up in an immigrant family that migrated to Australia had its core challenges.

Not only did I have to learn the English language, but I had to learn how to navigate a multicultural country.

It wasn’t until I read a book by Tony Robbins back in 2001 that I realised that I had disempowering limiting beliefs.

These limiting beliefs took a long time to overcome, but I’m glad to know that it’s not impossible with the right techniques and the courage to overcome them.

Below were some of the hardest ones for me to overcome.

English is my second language so I’m limited in what I can do
I’m a college drop out so that means I’m not smart and my future career is limited
Money is hard to come by as I come from a middle-class family with little savings and a lot of debt
I’m an introvert that runs away from big social settings
I’m an average looking guy and my prospects are limited

Now you can probably relate to a few of these limiting beliefs.

The good news is that there are several ways we can hack our minds to overcome them.

“Many people are passionate, but because of their limiting beliefs about who they are and what they can do, they never take actions that could make their dream a reality.” — Tony Robbins

Determining the root cause through Journaling

The first thing I learned from Tony Robbins was to list down all the limiting beliefs that were holding me back.

I had to write them down in detail, determine how it was affecting my life and find out how it all started.

For example, being a college dropout made me feel uneducated.

But that’s not how this belief all began. It all began when I started applying for jobs I was interested in but required a college degree, which I didn’t have.

That was the time when I thought my future was limited because I was missing that one thing that could get me the jobs that I want.

Fast forward to 20 years later, I now work as a Tech Recruiter earning a six-figure income.

Oh and I still haven’t got a college degree.

I’m not here to brag, but I only wish to inspire you to go for your dreams even when you don’t think you’re qualified.

Photo by iStockPhoto.com

Flipping to a new belief

The next step is to change the limiting belief to an empowering belief.

Where not neglecting the original limiting belief, but more like changing the narrative.

Here are 2 examples

Although English is not my primary language, I am a fast learner and I’m confident I’ll be able to communicate my thoughts and ideas to anyone.

Although I’m an introvert, I am comfortable with socialising in a small group or 1 on 1. It’s also possible to learn from others (or online) how to socialise in a big group setting as an introvert.

At least this way, we are training our minds to accept the limitations we may think we have and flip them with a solution.

“You can do whatever you set your mind to if you just roll up your sleeves, get in there, and do it. Everything is figureoutable.” — Marie Forleo

Finding Evidence

This is something I learned by myself.

Since I enjoyed reading about personal development and biographies of successful people in the world, I was able to find out that there are so many people who had the same limitations as I had and was still able to achieve their goals.

For example, I’ve seen many immigrants from 3rd world countries make it big in Australia despite the language barrier. If they can do it, then why can’t I?

Or how about college dropouts that we’re able to earn a six-figure income?

How about my favourite example of Neil Strauss, an average looking guy who’s able to become one of the best pick up artists in America only to get married years later.

Visualisation Techniques

This is something I learned from the movie called ‘The Secret”.

Visualisation is a technique where we sit down, close our eyes and visualise the outcome we want to achieve.

I have visualised all the outcomes I wanted to have despite the limiting beliefs.

For instance, I would visualise being a confident guy when it comes to dating. I would feel the feeling of having a great time with my date and seeing her smile in return.

I would imagine this over and over again until the vision and the emotion becomes 2nd nature.

I was basically doing mental rehearsals to prepare for the day when my dreams come true.

Using Fear Setting instead of Goal Setting

This is something I only learned last year. I wish I knew about it earlier on.

I learned this from watching a video by Tim Ferris (author of the book “Tools of Titans”)

This exercise determines the worst possible outcome when trying to achieve our goals.

So for example, growing up I would always feel that I don’t have enough money to enjoy my life.

Rather than take a 2nd job which would make me feel miserable, I would try my hand at a side hustle that I would enjoy and hopefully be profitable.

The thing is, I had no experience with side hustles.

Rather than letting my fear stop me from taking action, I would do the fear setting exercise to determine the worst possible scenario and have a plan B or C if it does happen.

What I found out was that the worst-case scenario would be losing a few hundred dollars and embarrassing myself in front of friends and family.

(Wait… that’s it?)