What are Limiting Beliefs? How Can We Overcome Them?

 

Growing up, you may have been told that you can do anything you want as long as you put your mind to it. We are masters of our own destinies and authors of our own stories. But are we, really? What if it isn’t some unseen force or unwritten rule that’s stopping us from doing the things we want.

What if we are getting in our own way?

Limiting beliefs stop many of us from living the lives we want and reaching our full potentials. But what exactly are limiting beliefs, how do we identify them and how can we overcome them?

 

What are Limiting Beliefs?

 

When we put limits on ourselves, these are limiting beliefs. They are the stories we tell ourselves about what’s true and the boundaries we set, believing we can never cross them. Simply put, they are beliefs that you think are true and limit you in some way.
These could be beliefs about yourself, the way you interact with others, or how the world works. They can manifest as poor self-esteem, procrastination, insecurity, and even imposter syndrome.

 

Examples of Limiting Beliefs

 

Some common examples of limiting beliefs include:

• I’m not good enough

• I don’t have enough time

• I can’t ask for what I want or need because I will be rejected

• I don’t have enough money

• I can’t be my authentic self because others will judge me

• I can’t do this

• I can’t say no to other people, or they may reject me

Limiting beliefs can create a vicious cycle of negativity and prevent you from living the life you truly want.

 

What Causes Limiting Beliefs?

 

So, where do limiting beliefs come from? How do they develop?
Limiting beliefs can come from:
• Childhood experiences: Your parents and family members were your first role models. Parents often try to instil specific values in their children, and these beliefs or values can shape the child’s view on how the world works and how they should engage with others.
• Education: Family members and friends were also your earliest teachers. Their own beliefs and values can impact your own view of what’s true. In formal education settings, teachers may be viewed as respected authority figures, and students accept their teachings as true.
• Personal experiences: Life is an excellent teacher, but we may draw conclusions from these experiences that limit our own behaviors, thoughts and actions. Negative experiences can strongly influence your limiting beliefs.

 

How to Identify Limiting Beliefs

 

Limiting beliefs are sneaky. They can be challenging to identify because they form the foundation of how you see the world, how you believe the world works and how you engage with others. You may not even realize that some of your beliefs are limiting.
So, how can we identify these beliefs if we can’t even recognize them?
Create a List of Your Beliefs
Start by creating a list of your own beliefs about family, finances, health, relationships and life in general. Analyse each belief and ask yourself the following question:
• Is this a belief that will help me grow, or will it stop me from reaching my full potential?
Maybe you have a belief that love or romantic relationships equal pain because you have had negative past experiences with romance. Unfortunately, this belief limits you from experiencing a healthy romantic relationship.
Sometimes, seeing your beliefs written down in front of you can be eye-opening.

How to Overcome Limiting Beliefs

 

Recognising your limiting beliefs is the first step to freeing yourself from them, here are some things you can do:

 

Practice Mindfulness

 

In addition to calming the mind and body, mindfulness can also help you recognise and become aware of your limiting beliefs.
All you need is a quiet space with no distractions. Mindfulness is one of the good tools to manage stress, anxiety, and feeling of being overwhelmed.

You can find a good mindfulness exercise here

 

Use Positive Affirmations

 

Positive affirmation can transform your negative beliefs into positive ones.
A positive affirmation is a phrase that describes what you’d like to be in the future, for example “I am calm under stressful situations”, to create a positive affirmation you must think of something you’d like to be in the future, but in the present tense rather than future tense.
When you’ve created your affirmation, replace each negative word, for example “anxious” with its positive counterpart “calm”.
We do this because when you think of a negative word, no matter the context you still think of the same word, rather than a more positive version.
So if you say you want to be “less anxious” you still think about being anxious, saying “more calm” would be the more positive version. The mind doesn’t pick up the word “less”, only the “anxious” part.
A good example of a positive affirmation would be “I am calm, cool and collected”.
Once you’ve created your positive affirmation you want to constantly remind yourself of it, you can put up sticky notes and write it in places you see regularly.
Rehearse your affirmations every day when you have the chance and they will stick with you.

In this video here 
you can find out more creative ways to use affirmations to illuminate limiting beliefs through asking a question right before the statements:
1) What if I feel safe today?
2) What would it give me if I feel beautiful today?
3) What would it give me if I feel totally safe today?

It is a brilliant way to bypass the inner critic
and allow your subconscious mind to change the negative limiting belief to a positive one.

Keep a Journal of Your Thoughts

 

Start keeping track of your thoughts in a journal. Your journal entries can help you identify beliefs that may be limiting and stopping you from reaching your full potential.

1) Write the negative beliefs in your notebook
2) Look at them
3) Flip them to the opposite side using only positive words

Before – I always expect something bad to happen. I am in danger.
After- I am ok, I am safe and secure.

Before – I am always so anxious
After- I am calm cool and collected

Before- I am a terrible driver (that used to be one of mine!)
After- I never had any accidents. I am a safe driver!

Overcoming these beliefs will take time and persistence, but it is possible.
With time and effort your brain will eventually take the new message in and as a result would break up the old self negative belief.

If you are struggling with limiting beliefs and feeling trapped, I would love to help you! Contact me to take the next step.