No one wants to live their life with a limited mindset, and it needs no explanation how they would not accomplish much in their life. A person can do great things if they start believing in themselves. The problem is that many of us unknowingly live under a self limiting belief system without knowing it. These beliefs stand like false accusations holding back all our desires, dreams and goals we have nurtured for a long time. But fortunately, we can smash these negative beliefs. By seeing them for what they are and ignoring them, we can achieve everything we want in our lives.
What are Limiting Beliefs?
Limiting beliefs are fears we have about the future or about ourselves. They stand in the way of our success in life and block us from self love, a fulfilling life and happiness
Limiting beliefs are destructive and prevent us from living a full life. They create an unseen barrier that prevents us from achieving the level of success, happiness and fulfilment we truly desire. This means you don’t know they’re affecting you until they’re pointed out to you.
How Do You Know When You Have a Self Limiting Belief?
If you feel uncomfortable trying to move in the direction of your dreams, if you hesitate to make moves that would help you achieve your goals, if you think that something is wrong with you or others and not with your circumstances, then these are signs of self limiting beliefs.
If you find yourself constantly making excuses for why things did not work out, then there may be some self limiting beliefs that you need to address.
Self limiting beliefs are like a pair of glasses that we wear all the time. Through this pair of glasses, we see everything in the world around us in a certain way and act accordingly. They are made up of our thoughts, feelings and emotions, which are formed over time through our experiences in life.
It’s important to know what your self limiting beliefs are because when they go unchallenged, they have the power to influence every aspect of your life.
What are Some Self Limiting Beliefs?
There are different kinds of self limiting beliefs. Some common examples of limiting beliefs include:
- I don’t have time
- It’s too hard, I can’t do it
- Nothing ever works out for me.
- I am too old/young/too fat/thin/ugly/rich/poor etc..
- I am not worth it
- I can’t achieve success
- I am afraid of making mistakes.
- People will judge me or reject me.
- I don’t deserve to be happy.
- I am powerless over the things that happen to me.
How To Overcome This Limiting Believe.
So how do you change your beliefs? How do you eliminate all those limiting beliefs that keep you stuck in a rut? There’s no easy answer to this question because everyone’s situation is different. You need to consider your personality type and the nature of your specific limiting belief(s).
If you’re not sure where to start, here are 10 limiting beliefs that many people have and how you can overcome them:
1. I am not good enough.
This is the most common self limiting belief, but it’s also the easiest to overcome. The key to getting past this self limiting belief is to realize that there are two types of “goodness”:
You are being good at something, for example, being a great athlete or having a high IQ. When you compare yourself to others and find out that you’re not as good as they are at something, it can make you feel like a failure because this is one of your main sources of identity. But if you recognize that there are other areas where you excel and celebrate those things instead, it will help you overcome this belief.
Being kind, caring and compassionate towards others. Some goodness comes from our hearts, inside us, rather than outside of us – from our accomplishments and achievements. You don’t need to be good at something to be kind, caring and compassionate! Being kind, caring and compassionate towards others will help improve your relationships and make you feel better about yourself too!
2. There’s something wrong with me.
When you believe that your flaws are the source of all your problems and unhappiness, it cannot be easy to accept yourself as you are. You may feel you need to change who you are to be happy. If this is true, you’ll also believe that other people are judging you negatively because they see these flaws too. That makes it hard for you to connect with others and build healthy relationships.
Here’s how to overcome this limiting belief:
Identify the negative thoughts about yourself that trigger your feelings of shame or guilt.
Ask yourself if the thought is true or false. Can it ever be true? Does it apply in every situation?
Challenge the thought with rational responses like “That’s not true,” or “That doesn’t make sense,” until you come up with a rational response that works for you (e.g., “Nothing is wrong with me.”)
3. I don’t have time.
This is a very common one. It’s easy to think you don’t have time for things when you only need to prioritize and make time for it.
Think about it: you already have the same 24 hours in the day as everyone else. The difference is that some people use their time better than others. They might be getting more done during the day because they’re not wasting time on useless activities, or they might be spending less time watching TV or playing video games.
If you learn to manage your time effectively, you can easily overcome this self limiting belief. The only thing that separates successful people from unsuccessful people is that the former act on a daily basis, while the latter wait for a miraculous event to occur before taking any meaningful action.
4. I am afraid of making mistakes.
The first step is accepting that making mistakes is integral to learning, improving, and growing. To overcome this belief, we must ask ourselves: What is the worst thing that can happen if I make a mistake?
The answer is usually nothing!
The worst thing that can happen is that you’ll learn something new about yourself, which can be a good thing. If you’re afraid of making mistakes, then you will probably hold yourself back from doing things that are important to you or from reaching your goals.
5. I can’t do it
What does it mean? It means that whatever you try to do is impossible or not within your reach. It suggests that you are not good enough, smart enough or talented enough to achieve what you want.
How do you know if you have this belief? If someone says “no” to an idea you have, you instantly believe they are right and give up without even trying. If someone says “yes”, then you immediately start planning how to make it happen instead of just talking about it.
Stop saying “I can’t” and start saying “I will!”
As simple as it sounds, it works! You need to stop telling yourself that something is impossible for you and start telling yourself that anything is possible if you work hard enough. The more times you tell yourself that something is possible for you, the more likely it will happen in reality!
6. It’s too late for me.
It’s never too late! If you want something badly enough, then go out and get it!
There are so many things that you can still do and achieve at any age. You don’t need to wait until retirement to start something new or try something out of your comfort zone. So many jobs take people in their 30s, 40s and 50s. If you want to run a marathon, you can start training for it now or join a gym and exercise regularly, even if it’s just walking or jogging around the block daily!
7. They won’t listen to me.
We all experience it at some point in our lives. The fear of being rejected is connected to low self-esteem and confidence issues. If you have low self-esteem, it will affect how others perceive you and also how you perceive others.
The best way to overcome this is through positive affirmations. You need to tell yourself that not everyone will like you or agree with what you say or do, but it doesn’t matter because there will always be someone who does! It may seem like common sense, but it needs to be reinforced daily until it becomes part of who you are.
8. What will people think of me?
This fear is an illusion. It’s a lie that our mind tells us to keep us small and afraid to live freely and honestly in the world.
There are so many self limiting beliefs that can hold us back. Some are obvious, but others are hidden and sneak up on us when we are not looking for them.
These beliefs can be about our lack of ability, our lack of confidence, or our inability to achieve something we want in life.
9. Life is hard, so what’s the point?
This belief is one that I see in a lot of people. It’s easy to fall into this mindset when you’ve been through a lot of pain and hardship. But it’s also something you can overcome with time and effort.
The first step is understanding that life doesn’t have to be hard. You have the power to make it easy, or at least easier than it would be otherwise. And once you realize this, it will become much easier to take control of your life and improve it.
You can start by making small changes in your life today.
10. I don’t have money.
The truth: You can make money. You need to figure out how.
The solution: Make a plan that includes saving money and making more of it. If you want to get rich, you have to set goals for yourself and stick to them. Pay attention to your spending habits and look for ways to save money
In Conclusion
If you’ve developed a self limiting belief, accept it, and let it go. You’ll be surprised at how much more you’ll achieve. The belief will be replaced by creative solutions, interesting opportunities and life-enhancing insights that will propel your life in a new direction.
