3 Steps for Overcoming Limiting Beliefs
First off, what are limiting beliefs?
Beliefs can come in all different shapes and sizes. They are usually formed in our formative years through our parents, carers, educators, friends, culture, partners, employers and society. Similarly to our values, these beliefs push and pull us in different directions throughout our life. Most of the time, and when I say most I mean 99.9% of the time we are unaware of their existence and the power they hold over our behaviours and actions.
Limiting beliefs are thoughts and opinions that tend to have a negative impact on our lives. They stump our growth and can prevent us or slow us down when we try to move forward.
Have you ever had a similar thought to:
I’m not good at talking to new people.
I’m not confident.
I could never start my own business.
If I went for that job I would be judged.
I don’t have time.
I’m too old to do that.
You might be reading this now and thinking that some of those statements are true for you. Maybe there are some limiting beliefs that you hold so close, you have convinced yourself of their truth, and collected the evidence to support it.
“Yes, well, my teachers at school used to say my marks were good but I wasn’t outgoing or confident enough.”
Just take a moment, raise your awareness of these inner thoughts, or common statements and practise acknowledging them as beliefs.
Step #1 Examine the limiting beliefs you currently have about yourself.
For an example, let’s imagine what limiting beliefs someone might have when thinking about a career change.
I couldn’t start a proper business
I don’t have enough drive to be successful
I am too old to start something new
I don’t have transferrable skills or enough experience
Step #2 Consider what your negative beliefs (limiting beliefs) are costing you on a daily basis.
Belief: I couldn’t start a proper business.
Cost: I never try to start a business, but I still spend time thinking about it.
Belief: I don’t have enough drive to be successful.
Cost: I choose to stay in my comfort zone and avoid setting goals as I believe I will not have the drive to achieve successful outcomes.
Belief: I am too old to start something new.
Cost: I choose to change nothing as I believe that I cannot.
Belief: I don’t have transferrable skills or enough experience.
Cost: I choose to focus on what I don’t know and what skills I do not have. I choose not to think resourcefully as my default belief is that I am not good enough.
(You might even take it one step further and consider the cost on your long-term future, e.g. regret, passing on limiting beliefs, self-doubt, paralysis, depression, untapped potential and so on…)
Tip #3 Explore what your life could be like if you were to let go of these beliefs.
How would life be different if you let go of these beliefs? What would your new belief be? What outcomes might follow?
Old belief: I couldn’t start a proper business.
New belief: I never try to start a business, but I still spend time thinking about it.
Potential outcome: I start a new business and step by step I succeed in building something that I enjoy and am proud of. In turn, this effects my health, my career and my relationships with others. I gain new confidence and self-beliefs and I transfer these skills to other areas of my life. Constantly changing myself for the better.
I work on beliefs with my clients during their coaching sessions to help them break free from their self-made limits. Once they acknowledge and overcome these beliefs they see monumental change in how they view themselves and the round around them.
Once you have the awareness, you have choice.
