It’s too late for me to learn a new skill.
I am far too young to think about that.
I’m going to die alone.
I will never find a career I love, I will be stuck in a job I hate.
Whatever, I would never be able to do that.
What the statements above have in common is that they are all limiting beliefs. They limit what you are capable of and give you an excuse to underachieve. Limiting beliefs keep you trapped in your comfort zone and limit your development. Whether these limiting beliefs are unconscious or conscious thoughts, when we regard them as truths, we hinder our progress.
The good news is you can kill them.
- Identify
The first step you need to take if you want to kill your limiting beliefs is identification. You can’t fight something you can’t see or recognize so make it your goal to identify all of your limiting beliefs but start with the biggest one.
- Recognize
It might seem obvious, but one of the most important steps of killing limiting beliefs is recognizing that they are just that. Just because you believe it doesn’t make it a fact. The majority of limiting beliefs are lies and the only reason they have any power is that you gave them the power. By recognizing them for what they are, you take that power back.
- Challenge
Once you recognize limiting beliefs are rooted in lies, you can start challenging them. You can ask yourself how grounded the belief is, what supporting facts there are, whether you always thought that way, and what changed if you didn’t.
Interrogating your limiting beliefs takes away their power because that’s when you start to see them for what they are – lies. These types of questions are designed specifically to challenge your perspective and make you think outside the box.
- Recognize
You might be thinking you already ticked this box, but this is about recognizing the damaging consequences of falling for or holding onto limiting beliefs. It’s going to deprive you of happiness and success if you allow it.
- Adopt
Out with the old and in with the new, which means once you rid yourself of a limiting belief you can adopt a new limitless belief. When you choose your new belief, be sure it’s something that will improve or benefit your life in some way.
It won’t be an easy transition – it’s essentially replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, but if you’re consistent, then you can do it. The deeper the emotional bond you have with a limiting belief the harder it will be to overcome it.
- Practice
Now that you’ve done all the pre-work, it’s time to take action and implement habits that support your new limitless beliefs. For example, if you have held onto a limiting belief about being too old or out of shape to exercise, then remind yourself consistently that it’s never too late and take action with a 5-minute walk. Make sure you persist with a daily walk and increase the length each time.
Conditioning yourself with these new beliefs is essentially an act of creating the reality that you want. When you start visualizing the results you want and the reality you picture, you create anticipation that spurs your brain to chase it.
When you understand that you can change limiting beliefs and live a limitless one you start to easily recognize the toxic ideas that have been holding you back. And once you have that skill under your belt, there’s absolutely nothing that can stop you from achieving your dreams.
