Limiting Beliefs: How to Make Them Limitless
If you accept a limiting belief, it will become a truth for you.
Louise Hay
We are our own worst enemies. You may have heard this before, however, did you ever take the time to truly digest that information? We get in our own way, then deny it ever happened. For example, how many times have you been too scared to try something new? The fear of failure runs so deep that most of us are too terrified to take a leap of faith and trust ourselves. Will you always succeed? No. But will you ever succeed if you’re always letting fear of the unknown stop you? No.
Limiting beliefs influence our subconscious with a ferocious, silent strength. We go a good portion of our lives unaware of how we limit ourselves, and how our early experiences shape those beliefs. For example, let’s say John was born into a family with two parents, and 3 siblings, including him. Growing up, all the children exceled in their academics, but John, being the youngest, did not receive recognition for his intelligence because by this point, his parents expected their children to be smart. When John’s older brothers got praised for their intelligence, it made John feel resentful, sad, and angry. He would follow in his brothers’ footsteps, hoping to get the same praise they received, but failed because his parents were already praising his brothers because they were a few steps ahead of him. His whole life John was chasing his brothers’, never creating his own path. When he finally graduated college and transitioned into work life, John felt incompetent and that he couldn’t do anything right. His limiting belief; I am not smarter than my brothers, therefore I am unworthy of love.
This limiting belief being buried in John’s subconscious caused a lot of issues throughout his life. John started out by pursuing other academic opportunities, hoping to get the same praise his brothers received, but would fail because his siblings’ accomplishments always over-shadowed his. This made him feel rejected and unintelligent. These emotions reinforced the belief that he will never be smart enough. However, when we form these limiting beliefs, we tend to seek out events and emotions that reinforce them. This gets us stuck in a never-ending wheel of unhappiness and disappointment.
How do we break this wheel? We must experience new events that promote positive emotions in order to reinforce new beliefs. For example, if John got the opportunity to show how intelligent he is, instead of feeling inferior, John willed himself to feel a sense of pride for the hard work he put in. These new emotions enforce John to start feeling competent and intelligent. Additionally, John should start seeking events that utilize his strengths. This means he should go after the things that he is good at, not his brothers. John may be able to do what his brothers do; however, he is most likely highly competent in something else. John needs to pursue his own strengths instead of attempting to be someone he is not.
Of course, this is not an instant fix, and you won’t feel different after a single day. This is an important aspect to understand. However, you will be able to feel the shift in yourself as you recognize how you are playing into your own mislead beliefs. Recognizing how you’re able to change those limiting beliefs gives you a sense of power, one that points you in a new direction and a sense of purpose. This creates a new and healthy lifestyle change, and lifestyle changes take time, but are worth it.
In this way, can we make our limiting beliefs limitless? Can we push ourselves out of our own way?
Yes.
What would you be able to accomplish if you weren’t afraid to take risks? Or if you believed in yourself? How many times would you pick yourself up and continue until you succeeded in what you knew you were capable of?
The possibilities would be practically endless.
Connect with The Utech Group to learn more about limiting beliefs or on how to break a habit, that may be holding you back from meeting your true potential. We work with clients across the country to break down relational barriers that limit personal and professional performance and growth. Our customized organizational development process provides businesses and organizations with the tools to resolve people issues, create strong teams, develop leadership potential and hire the right people for the right job.
