Do you want to do something, but don’t
believe you can?
Have you ever challenged what you
believe you can do?
“Whether you think you can, or think you
can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford
Many of us believe we are in control of
our own minds and believe we choose to do things, or not do things, based off
what our limits are. But do we truly know our limits, or are they imagined? Are
they based off fact, or have they been put there by something someone said, or
an experience that led us to believe that?
Belief is everything, whether it is
the day to day 'I can do this' kind of belief, or the religious sort. If people want to think or see things a
certain way, they will, no matter what facts or experience might contradict
them.
The very word: Believe, taken apart,
is ‘Be’ ‘Live’ – you ‘Be’ and ‘Live’ based on what you think about the things in your world.
A Limiting Belief is one that suppresses
our own personal truth about who we are or what we can achieve. In general we
are all limited to rules and regulations as a society or civilisation to
function and get along, but what I am talking about are the personal beliefs that hurts us
by limiting what we want to achieve in life and stop us growing and thriving.
Many people limit their beliefs to
conform to a given set of rules, or to satisfy another. When we stifle
ourselves to conform to a belief imposed by another, it stops us from being
able to step into who we truly are and live our lives to the fullest. It can
lead to an unhappy life and often depression if we feel powerless under such
restrictions.
“The only limits you have are the limits
you believe.” – Wayne Dyer
Understanding that some of our beliefs
are limiting us and identifying those that stop us from reaching for our dreams, is
the first step in changing them and releasing ourselves from their bonds.
We need to then ask ourselves some questions - particularly when we find ourselves resisting something we thought we wanted to do:
1) Can I do that?
2) Do I want to?
When asking ourselves the second
question, we also check our feelings on it: Maybe we do want to, but we are
scared or fearful of the outcome – an imagined outcome. But until we try we
won’t know so we can choose to stay in fear or we can push through the fear and
try. And whether we succeed or fail it doesn’t matter, because we have tried
and learnt something about ourselves in the process.
For example, I might believe that I
am not welcome in a particular social group. I might decide in my own mind I am
not welcome by over-analysing conversations or body language. But really I am
fearful of the rejection if I try to take part in a group activity. I can
choose to keep believing that I am not welcome or I can find out for sure by
participating.
I am a writer. I can choose to believe that it is a waste of time submitting my work to publishers because it won’t be good enough. But why do I believe it is not good enough? Don’t I have as much chance as anyone? Have I had only negative feedback on my writing? Asking these questions makes me stop and decide what I really believe, and also whether I am helping myself or giving my negatives beliefs power.
I am a writer. I can choose to believe that it is a waste of time submitting my work to publishers because it won’t be good enough. But why do I believe it is not good enough? Don’t I have as much chance as anyone? Have I had only negative feedback on my writing? Asking these questions makes me stop and decide what I really believe, and also whether I am helping myself or giving my negatives beliefs power.
Maybe when we were a child we wanted to
do something and someone told us we couldn’t, that we wouldn’t be able to -
maybe a parent, a teacher or another authority figure. And from that point on
we believed it was always out of our reach. And now when someone asks us if we
want to do it, we say we can’t. But in truth, we don’t know, because we have
never tried or given ourselves the chance to try.
“Learning, too soon, our limitations, we
never learn our power.” - Mignon Mclaughlin
Many limiting beliefs are driven by a
lack of self-confidence and self-worth, by honestly not believing in ourselves
or our abilities. Only by questioning ourselves, in a positive and constructive
way, can we challenge the beliefs that limit us in our day to day lives. Only
once we start to unlock them can we release our inner power and realise our
dreams.
Why don’t you go and write a list of all
the things you would like to do, go on - I dare you! Write out all the things
you dreamed of, however extreme they might be. And then go through that list
and see which ones are within your grasp if you believed you could do them.
It will give you a whole new perspective
on your potential, and liberate you. It will also make you question some of the
limiting beliefs you hold in other areas of your life.
“Remember: we all get what we tolerate.
So stop tolerating excuses within yourself - limiting beliefs of the past or
half-assed or fearful states.” – Tony Robbins
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