Removing Limiting Self-Beliefs

As children, we experience the world without a filter. We’re free to approach life without prejudices, or opinions, as we encounter everything for the first time.

But as we grow older, we begin to develop beliefs that form structure within our lives.

Some of these beliefs are useful – they stop us from saying something inappropriate during a meeting, or from crossing the road without looking either way – however, many of the beliefs we develop over the years are self-imposed restrictions that can have a negative impact on the quality of our lives.

We call these limiting beliefs.

What are limiting beliefs?

Limiting beliefs are beliefs that keep us from being able to renew ourselves or grow.

We all have ideals, and we all fall short of our ideals from time to time, but a limiting belief tells us that we will never achieve our ideals or our potential. We must have faith that we can achieve what we want to achieve, however big that achievement seems to be.

On the other hand, we can also be ruined by imagining that facts are not what they are. So, to believe that a fact is not a fact, is also a limiting belief because it prevents us from dealing with the actual situation that we need to deal with, in order to achieve what we want.

Therefore, we are always having faith in our ideals while at the same time facing the facts that stand between where we currently are and where we ideally want to be.

If you cannot hold this paradox as you grow you will likely not succeed and fall into false, limiting beliefs.

One common manifestation of this limiting belief is that “I must do one thing or another,” when, in fact, it may be possible to do “one thing and another.”

For example, you may have a passion for teaching wellness, but there is always more to know about wellness since the world of healing and wellness is an infinite body of knowledge that would take many lifetimes to master and exhaust.

One response to this might be to think that you don’t know enough to start, therefore you feel like an imposter.

The limiting belief here is that you must know everything about wellness in order to start teaching it, otherwise, you’ll be an imposter. This thought is a kind of perfectionism that will cause you never to start because you can never know everything about wellness.

Instead, you might consider that you can teach wellness and not know everything about it, without being an imposter.

By embracing the fact that wellness is an infinite body of knowledge that no one can master in a lifetime you can start without first having to have perfect knowledge of wellness.

Perfection is, oddly, more often than not, a limiting belief. And yet—you must know something to start. You have to face the facts and do the work, enough, at least, to start. And how much is enough is what’s determined by society and what society says is enough.

Perhaps you need to take some classes, become an expert, get a license, work as an intern, apprentice, or study something.

So, in such a case you’d take your cues from society as well as your own standards—what’s enough for you to be able to start, though not necessarily perfectly.

Thus, you can see that to start, you have to be willing to be imperfect and not imperfect at the same time!

How to overcome limiting beliefs

In general, you can figure out a good way to live by thinking about three concepts:

1. What you’re passionate about.
2. What you can be the best in the world at.
3. How can you make money in a way that supports what you’re passionate about and what you’re the best in the world at, or vice-versa: how can you use what you’re passionate about and the best in the world at to make money?

This sounds easy, but it’s not always so simple.

One of the best ways that I’ve found to accomplish this goal is by working with a good teacher or coach—someone who holds you accountable to your own high standards, who doesn’t let you ignore the facts while at the same time helping you to cultivate and nourish your vision for success.

How to remove limiting beliefs

With enough sincerity, passion, honesty, and internal motivation, you can completely eliminate your limiting beliefs and become the person you are destined to be.

The best way to destroy a limiting belief is through action.

By beginning to ask yourself difficult questions, focusing on creating alternative beliefs, and truly putting your beliefs to the test you can begin to overcome the beliefs you’ve imposed on yourself.

Limiting beliefs develop and thrive with inaction—if you do not act, you are only proving that you are stopped by some hidden, limiting beliefs.

With simple steps, it’s possible to destroy any limiting beliefs in a moment with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Believe in yourself, take action and success will happen!

For more information and a course on how to identify your limiting beliefs and how to overcome them, email us: contact@outsidetheboxeducation.co.uk or call 05903 95089.

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