The Limiting beliefs Are one of the great barriers that prevent the achievement of great goals.
A belief influences and extends in different areas of your life and, in addition, defines your way of being: personality And behavior.
And those beliefs can be positive or negative. They can boost your life and expand your possibilities or it can make you not get anything or what is worse, not even try.
Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. - Anthony Robbins .
What is a belief?
According to wikipedia,"it is the state of mind in which an individual considers as true the knowledge or experience he has about an event or thing."
That is, it is the subjective knowledge that you have of the events that occur in the world, of things / other people and yourself. It is a feeling of security about what something means.
Examples:
- Knowledge of events: believe that something happens by luck. These influence our potential to act.
- Things / people: believe that material things are the most valuable in the world / believe that others are selfish. These influence our relationships.
- Person: believe that you are worth much or believe that you are not worth much. These influence In your self-esteem .
Therefore, beliefs can refer to: events, things / people, and yourself.
Why are beliefs so important?
A belief leads to having a potential to act, which leads to action, which leads to results.
For example:
- Belief: you think you can finish the triathlon.
- Potential: That belief creates the potential or possibility of ending it.
- Action: run the triathlon.
- Result: you finish it.
If the belief had been"you think you can not finish the triathlon,"or even had the potential to start it, which would not have led to any action or any result.
The biggest problem with these beliefs is that they are unconscious. That is, they are influencing your behavior and your life and you do not even realize it.
Where do beliefs come from?
These beliefs are usually formed from the experiences of our childhood or are based on generalizations that come from painful experiences.
Examples:
- A child who is criticized destructively by his parents will begin to have limiting and negative beliefs about himself, which will Build a self-esteem Negative and will prevent them from developing their potential.
- A child who is surrounded by people who convey to him his affection and who obtains good results in the school, will construct beliefs of the type"I am intelligent". This belief will guide you to value yourself and greater achievements, as you will trust in your possibilities.
However, I have good news, so do not be discouraged: beliefs can be changed. In fact the first step to do so is to understand what they are (what you are doing by reading this article) and realize what beliefs you have. If they are negative and limiting, you will have to change them.
Before…
Before moving on to the next point, I want to tell you an example that you probably will not forget and with which I hope to convince you of the power of beliefs.
The illusion of glass
The illusion of glass was an external manifestation of a psychiatric disorder that occurred in Europe at the end of the Middle Ages (XV-XVII century).
People thought they were made of glass and that they were in danger of breaking into pieces. In fact, one of the people who suffered it was King Charles VI of France, who came to deny that people touched and dressed in more clothes to avoid some"break."
This simple illusion caused people to change their lifestyles, and even avoid human contact.
These beliefs of the Middle Ages will be distant, although for the people who had them were real and influenced in their lives notably. The only difference with the present is that ours are based on our own person and our possibilities.
What beliefs are you having that produce you having bad habits or self-limiting?
Next we will see what you have to do to build positive and empowering beliefs that"exploit"your potential and allow you to achieve greater achievements.
Examples of limiting beliefs
There are hundreds of limiting beliefs, although I will comment on some of the most frequent and probably have had in your life. If you still have them, today is your day to begin to change them.
1-It's very difficult, it can not be achieved / I can not do it (situational).
2- I value less than others (personal).
3- People get lucky by luck. . The effort is not worth it
4-I can not count on others (relationships).
5-The others are selfish (relationships).
6-If I win I will not want (situations).
7-If I show someone who is interested in him, he will reject me (relationships).
8-If I go wrong they will laugh at me (relationships).
9-I do not care about anyone and they do not want me (personal).
10-Succeeding only leads to more problems (situational).
11-For having a bad past I am an unfortunate.
12-Other: I'm no good, I can not help anyone, I deserve the worst...
Do you have any or have you had any? Are you now aware of what those beliefs would limit you? If you had them, they would be causing your life to not thrive and prevent yourself from advancing and improving in certain areas of your life.
Changing Negative Beliefs
The reality is that it is hard work to change beliefs, although it is very worthwhile, since from the moment you do so you will begin to experience new results in your life.
Here are the steps you can take:
1-Write your beliefs
Look at the results you are having in your life and you do not like them. What do they owe? Is there a belief that is influencing behavior that leads to a negative outcome? What assumptions and beliefs do you have that prevent you from developing your potential?
2-Become aware that they are beliefs and not realities
This is a complicated step because you may think that those negative beliefs are real. Do you remember glass people? They did not even want to be touched...
Reflect on those beliefs. How do you know they are true? Do you have proof?
Do not you get a good job because you are not worth it or you do not get it because you think you are not worth it? Do not talk to who you like because you are not attractive or you do not talk to who you like because you think you are not attractive?
3-Associate limiting beliefs to something negative
Think of those beliefs and associate them with something you dislike, associate with something very negative, even with pain.
For example think of believing that you are not going to get a job Terrible in which you are exploited.
4-For each belief, build a new belief
For the examples I wrote in point 4:
1-It's very difficult, it can not be achieved / I can not do it (situational).- I can do it if I persevere and try hard.
2-Valgo less than the others (personal).- Valgo just like the others.
3-People get the achievements by luck. The effort is not worth it."People do not get anything without effort.
4-I can not count on others (relations).- I can count on people and I can ask for help.
5-The others are selfish (relations).- The others are friendly, I can have good relationships.
6-If triumph they will not want me (situations).- If I win, they will want me the same as before.
7-If I show someone that I am interested in him, he will reject me (relations).- If I show interest someone will appreciate it.
8-If I go wrong they will laugh at me (relations).- If I go wrong, there will be people who will admire me for trying and those who laugh are useless not even try.
9-I do not care about anyone and they do not want me (personal).- I care about my people nearby and they love me.
10-Succeeding only leads to more problems (situational).- Succeeding includes having a good quality of life and problems are inevitable, being able to solve.
11-For having a bad past I am an unfortunate.-It is the present that counts and my negative past can serve me to be stronger.
12-Other: I'm no good, I can not help anyone, I deserve the worst...
Other positive beliefs would be:
"If I'm engaged I can do it."
"It all happens for a reason.
"The past does not limit me, it makes me grow.
-Life is a gift to be enjoyed.
"What really matters is what I think of myself, not others.
5-Affirm something positive new beliefs
Now, take the three beliefs that you think are most limiting to you and associate them with something positive .
For example: believing that if you try and fail, others will admire you, join a Positive emotion Or to try and achieve it.
6-Act
This step may seem radical or it will cause you anxiety but it works best.
Although you still do not have these beliefs, you can act as if (examples):
- You're attractive.
- You're worth a lot.
- You are nice and nice.
- You're smart .
- Fail It only allows you to advance and learn from mistakes.
If you act in a way that you have not acted before, you will observe new results and those results will contribute to the construction of new beliefs.
For example, public speaking Will contribute to creating the belief that you are daring, which will in turn allow other daring behaviors that will guide other positive results.
Now it's your turn. What are your limiting beliefs? How have they influenced your life? I'm interested in your opinion. Thank you!