This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever recommend products that I have personally used and loved. Thank you for your support!
Limiting beliefs – A term you probably heard many times before. Since a few years, many people on social media keep talking about how dangerous limiting beliefs are and that we all have them.
But what exactly are limiting beliefs and why is it crucial to overcome them.
Limiting beliefs are a belief pattern we most of the time hold subconsciously and which directs the way we live.
The danger lies in the word “limiting”. It is reasonable and necessary to hold some beliefs that direct your life.
Having a deep belief that people should always help each other is a valuable belief that brings a lot of good into your life.
But limiting beliefs hold you back from living your full potential.
Let’s look at an example.
Imagine you grow up in a family of overweight people. Naturally, you become more and more overweight yourself.
Now while you are a child, your family always says “oh, you know, being overweight lies in our genes. There is nothing we can do about that”.
Of course, as a child, you believe that. You create the limiting belief that you are genetically overweight. But why is that a limiting belief?
Simple, with a mindset like that you will never try to lose weight or tone your body. This keeps you from living a healthy, happy and longer life.
So you see the danger in limiting beliefs like that? To help you get rid of them, I collected 9 effective ways to do it. I designed it as a step by step guide. Therefore I recommend you start at the beginning.
Read also: 9 Mindsets That Are Keeping You Poor
Read also: 7 Mindset Changes You Need To Make ASAP
1. Identify your limiting beliefs
As mentioned above, limiting beliefs are very often subconscious. And to solve a problem we always have to identify it first.
You have to become aware of what it is holding you back.
You may not be able to recall all of your limiting beliefs instantly; I am aware of that. You can either give yourself a week to collect all the limiting beliefs you can find, or you can do this routine every time you stumble over a new limiting belief.
Try to look for situations in which you think or say words like “I can’t…” or “I am not … enough”.
Some of the most common limiting beliefs are:
- Not being talented enough to do something (e. g. dance, draw, ski, cook …)
- Not being smart enough to get that degree/job
- Money
being difficult to earn - Not being pretty enough (seriously, have you seen some of the models nowadays?! Probably anyone could become a model if they set their mind to it.)
To aid your search, ask your friends and family if they ever noticed you saying negative phrases like that repeatedly in certain situations.
2. Write your limiting beliefs down
Collect your limiting beliefs on a list. Make them visible to you. Things become more meaningful once they’re written down.
Maybe it doesn’t even take much more for you than becoming aware of your limiting belief. Perhaps that’s enough to make you realize how stupid it is.
But the longer you have been clinging to this belief, the more difficult it will be to overcome it.
I recommend you to journal about your limiting beliefs. Write about your thoughts and feelings about them.
It is much more powerful to write things down than just to think them in your head.
I also recommend you to use the following points as Journaling prompts.
Read also: 11 Journaling Prompts To Skyrocket Into The New Year
3. Ask yourself if they are justified
Obviously, this is a rhetoric question. The answer should always be “No “.
But I believe it is vital to dig deep on what caused this belief.
For me, it always helps if I can find logical arguments for why my limiting belief is illogical.
Maybe you can create a pro and con list.
Ask yourself what would be the worst to happen if you dropped that belief for its opposite.
Would it really be that bad?
Think back to situations you acted according to that belief. Do you think they would have turned out differently if you had behaved otherwise?
Try to look at your belief from a third person perspective. What would others say about your mindset?
Write your arguments down. You might need to look at them once in a while to overcome that belief.
4. Understand how and when they came to exist
Since limiting beliefs are often subconscious, we tend not to realize when we are adopting them.
There are many ways to adopt a limiting belief. A particular event could have been the cause for example.
But I believe most of the time other people “taught” us their way of thinking.
It happens through family members, friends, teachers, coaches, bosses, social media or peers.
Did your parents keep telling you that you can’t afford things and did you learn that money was always scars?
Did your teacher make you feel like you were too stupid to go to university?
Finding the root of the problem will bring you significantly closer to freeing yourself from the belief.
5. Realize that they are serving a purpose
This is something I have learned from Jen Sinceros “You are a badass“.
Your limiting beliefs often serve a purpose for you. Why else would you cling to them?
The questions is, is this purpose worth living a limited life?
Thinking that things are out of your control and that you are simply the unfortunate victim serves the purpose of pity. People love being pitied.
Or maybe your limiting belief makes you feel secure.
Try to find that purpose. It will help you in overcoming the mindset.
6. Think of times when they have been holding you back
Chances are your limiting beliefs will not only hold you back in the future but have already been holding you back in the past.
Try to think of those times. Times, when you missed out on something good because you were too afraid to act.
Nobody likes the feeling of regret. But in cases like this, regret can help you create a better life. It can give you the push you need to motivate yourself to change.
Don’t be afraid of change. Life is constantly changing. To enjoy it you have to embrace transformations.
7. Transform each negative beliefe into a positive affirmation
Turn back to the list you made in number 2. Now create a second list and replace each negative belief with a positive affirmation.
Change “Money is always scarce” to “I am a money magnet. I attract money effortlessly into my life every day. Money is easy and fun to earn.”.
Change “All the good men are already taken” to “I constantly meet good men! Every man I date is absolutely wonderful to me!”
Make the affirmation sound strong. Use words that resonate with you. And formulate them in the present tense. As if it already were this way.
Write your positive affirmations down each day. Speak them out loud.
Maybe journal about them once in a while. How do you feel about them? Are you starting to believe the words you are saying and writing?
8. Find idols that show you everything is possible!
Try to find a person, who was in a situation similar to or worse than you, and accomplished the very thing you think is impossible for you.
There are endless success stories out there. They have the power to crush every limiting belief you have.
Rags turned into riches.
People met their soulmates.
Miraculous recoveries from diseases are recorded.
Literally, everything is possible! You simply need to have the right mindset.
9. Act according to your new belief
Just do it!
Try to do the very thing you think you cannot do.
If you still have that limiting belief, you might not succeed immediately. But keep trying. Once you can see the first signs that it is possible, your limiting belief will dissolve into thin air.
As with many things in life, this is a never-ending journey. Just because you got rid of old limiting beliefs doesn’t mean new ones won’t develop.
You have to be self-aware and analyze your behavioral patterns. Any time you become aware of a new limiting belief, rinse and repeat the process that got rid of your past mindsets.
That’s it. Now you should be ready to tackle the beliefs that are holding you back from living your most fulfilled life.
Do you already know some limiting beliefs you want to transform? Comment them down below so that our community can hold you accountable.
And as always, I hope you continue to strive for Felicity. I know there is still so much in you that can help you to live your life to the fullest.
Until next time,
Sophie
