Everyone harbors limiting beliefs deep within themselves that are negative in nature, and hold us back in life — often without us even knowing it. They hinder us when making decisions during challenging times, prolong our suffering, and prevent us from achieving our true potential.
These beliefs are about ourselves, others, relationships, money, and life itself. For example, here are few that come up often:
* I’m not good enough.
* I’m not smart enough.
* I don’t have enough time.
* There’s never enough money.
* Life is hard.
* I will never be happy.
* I am not lovable.
* I will never find my soulmate.
* I don’t have enough education.
* Rich people are greedy and self-centered.
* I’m too old to make changes in my life now.
* I’ll always be broke.
* No one cares about me.
* You have to work hard on a relationship for it to work.
Often we don’t even realize we have those beliefs; many are being harbored at a subconscious level.
It Is Important To Shed Beliefs That Limit Us
Beliefs are merely an interpretation of the world based on the evidence you have observed and experienced throughout your life. Your beliefs have been programmed into your mind since early childhood and continue to be programmed into you even today.
Our parents, our friends, our teachers, the media, and our own experiences have helped mold and develop our beliefs, which affect our decisions and how we feel, and are a paramount reason for some of the undesirable situations in our lives.
It is important to shed these beliefs that limit us. Holding on to them will prevent you from moving forward and coming out on top.
For instance, if you have been holding on to the belief that rich people are greedy and self-centered, then the chances of actually experiencing financial abundance in your life are slim. You may want to become rich, but it will be virtually impossible to achieve such financial freedom. Why? Because at a deeper level you are inadvertently sabotaging yourself along the way. So, if you are currently in a difficult and challenging financial situation, it is crucial that you uncover what your limiting beliefs are about money and consciously shift them.
Identifying Your Limiting Beliefs
You may be asking yourself, How can I figure out if I am holding limiting beliefs, and if I am, what are they? First begin by evaluating the areas in your life that are not working right now or where you are experiencing difficulty (for instance, health, finances, relationships, career, and so on). I can assure you that you have limiting beliefs that are stopping you from being the best you can be in those areas.
To unveil them, you will have to begin paying attention to your inner self-talk. The more you become conscious of this inner conversation, the more you will notice the way certain negative ideas are repeated over and over again. Those are limiting beliefs.
For instance, if you are in a bad relationship and you are choosing to stay in that relationship even if you are unhappy, there is definitely a limiting belief around that. Perhaps you believe (either consciously or subconsciously) that “I’ll never meet another man at my age,” or maybe, “Who is going to want me? Look at how I let myself go,” or maybe, “I’m not a good person; no one will want me.” Those limiting beliefs are what is stopping you from moving forward.
Once you have identified your limiting beliefs, look for evidence that proves them wrong. So if “I’ll never meet another man at my age” is your limiting belief, look around you for proof of people who have found new and lasting love later in life. There are many all around you!
Simply identifying a limiting belief and knowing it isn’t true will help you release this belief and automatically replace it with an empowering new belief, such as, “I can meet a wonderful man at any age!” This new belief will help you move forward with your life in a positive and empowered way.
Being Aware, Releasing and Replacing Limiting Beliefs
Often, when we think of these limiting beliefs, we know that they aren’t true and that they are illogical, but somehow they manage to get stuck in our subconscious minds and still affect our thoughts; this of course affects our feelings, which ultimately affects our decisions and whether we take action or not in our lives.
By becoming aware of these limiting beliefs, recognizing when they come up, consciously releasing them, and replacing them with empowering beliefs instead, you will notice dramatic positive shifts in your life.
1. Begin by becoming consciously aware of your inner self-talk. Throughout the next week, notice what you are constantly saying to yourself and jot down the negative statements (beliefs) you say over and over again.
2. Then, next to each belief write what area of your life each statement refers to (career, finances, relationships, health, and so on.). You may notice a trend such that the most negative beliefs are in the area of your life in which you are experiencing the most difficulty.
3. Take each belief and search for evidence to disprove it.
4. Shift each of those limiting beliefs into a positive belief.
5. Write out all the positive new beliefs you have created on a separate sheet of paper. These are your new empowering beliefs.
6. Each time you catch yourself thinking one of those negative limiting beliefs, acknowledge it, and then say “cancel” in your mind and replace it with your new positive belief.
It may take time to reprogram your mind to believe these new empowering beliefs, but be patient. What you focus on expands, so the more you focus on these new beliefs, the more they will become your new way of thinking, and you will begin to experience positive shifts in your life.
Reprinted, with permission of the publisher,
from UNSINKABLE ©2011, 2015 by Sonia Ricotti.
Published by New Page Books a division of Career Press,
Pompton Plains, NJ. 800-227-3371. All rights reserved.
Article Source
Unsinkable: How to Bounce Back Quickly When Life Knocks You Down -- by Sonia Ricotti.
A financial crisis, a divorce, losing your job or a loved one, a health scare -- we all face painful, life-shattering events at some point. They can leave us feeling drained and drowning in depression. Author Sonia Ricotti draws upon her own experiences, as well as those of other high-profile self-help leaders, to help you overcome these difficult situations with ease, and bounce back quicker and higher than you thought possible. Unsinkable is not only inspiring, but it offers clearly written, step-by-step tools, strategies, stories, and exercises.
Click here for more info and/or to order this book on Amazon. Also available as a Kindle edition.
About the Author
Sonia Ricotti is a leading expert in personal and professional transformation. She is also the #1 best-selling author of The Law of Attraction Plain and Simple: Create the Extraordinary Life That You Deserve.? Sonia is the president of Lead Out Loud, a company that offers inspirational products, videos, and workshops that transform people’s lives. She is also the creator and host of the popular Be Unsinkable Teleseminar Series, in which she interviews some of the biggest transformational leaders from around the globe. Sonia has also become a YouTube sensation with her inspirational videos, viewed by more than 3 million people around the world.? For more information, visit www.leadoutloud.com.
Video/Interview with Sonia Ricotti: Healthy Habits of Happy People
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