What are self-limiting beliefs and how to eliminate them

Self-limiting beliefs are exactly what they say they are: self-created beliefs that limit you from reaching greater things in your life. The important aspect to take in consideration is that almost everybody in this world will have them.  I say almost because some have been brave enough to reach within and break the pattern of limitations they once created for themselves. Self-limiting beliefs are simply thoughts that become paradigms over time which influence the way you live. Whatever you experienced so far has lead you the point you are at now in your life. Your thoughts and feelings manifest themselves through your actions and what you believe to be true will ultimately prove to be so.  Your self-limiting beliefs have been stopping you from achieving your true potential and you are probably not even aware you have them. Think about these as tales you create for yourself in your mind that deplete or impede your forward actions. This is because they are limiting of course, therefore we can say that self-limiting beliefs are a big influence to why you haven’t really lived to your greatness so far.  Self-limiting beliefs are formed from your life experience, from the things you see, what you feel and what you hear about. Your perception of the world is highly influenced by both your internal state and the external factors that you encounter. The human brain has three main ways of receiving information, and this is done by generalizing it, deleting  the information or distorting it. The way you perceive something to be is exactly how it will be for you. The human mind is the powerhouse behind all thoughts, imagination and creation from a cognitive point. The information you consciously feed your mind with will be taken exactly as it is and stored within your unconscious mind. This is the area of the mind that controls the body systems and all involuntary functions. It is also the part that stores the ego, that voice that constantly likes to keep you safe and in your comfort zone. Playing a pivotal role in the creation of self-limiting beliefs, the ego can be your greatest friend or your biggest enemy, depending how you choose to use it. Your ego takes everything personal and it believes everything you tell it. Your conscious mind is the driver and the unconscious is the doer, so everything you consciously tell yourself, your unconscious and the ego will take it on board and believe it. Regardless if this information is true or not, it doesn’t care nor can it tell the difference. If you tell yourself you are a millionaire, and begin to believe it, then your unconscious mind will start creating the systems towards it. And soon enough you will begin acting like one. At the same time, if you tell yourself you are poor and cannot be rich, then your unconscious mind will grasp this belief and guess what? It will take it as a fact, so you will become just that.

If I said to you that whatever it is you want for yourself in your life, you can have, would you believe me? Hopefully many of you will, but I do have a slight feeling that there will be quite a few skeptic minds out there.

Henry Ford once said that “If you think can do a thing or you think you can’t do a thing, you are right. He was one of those great people who was able to identify the power of self-belief and use it to reach his aspirations. The most critical person towards you that you will ever meet in your life is yourself.  Your ego makes sure that you will do so in order to keep you safe. And whilst self-limiting beliefs can keep you “safe” and not let you get out of your comfort zone, you simply cannot grow further into a braver, stronger, more accomplished individual this way. Whatever has been stopping you this far to reach your aspirations and biggest dreams has been YOU due to your limiting beliefs.

Let’s explore the most common self-limiting beliefs and how to reverse these so you can start living to your uttermost potential. 

I CAN’T DO THIS

​Have you ever said this before? I know you have, I have too, so has everybody else. This is by far one of the most widely used self-limiting beliefs. When you say to yourself you can’t do something, what you are really doing is eliminating all possibility. You have created a belief about your situation and you are certain you simply cannot do whatever it is that you’d like to do. Then come the excuses including : I don’t have the money to start a business, I don’t have time for a relationship, I can’t go to university because I am too old, I can’t go travelling because I don’t have the money, I can’t run a marathon because I’m not fit enough, I can’t cook, I can’t do that presentation, I can’t get that job… I could keep going on, but I think you get the point. What you are doing here is limiting your opportunities because you are giving into fear. You see, it’s easy to say you can’t do something and then go back to living comfortably, without having to actually find a solution. You are infesting your brain with excuses to support your limiting belief and guess what? You believe it’s true!  What you need to look at is breaking this pattern and turning the I can’t into it’s possible. It’s possible for me to start my own business and I will use all my resources to gain the financial stability it requires; It’s possible for me to run that marathon and I will train consistently in order to bring up my fitness levels; It’s possible for me to go back to university and study what I love and all I need to do is fill in that application form and create a plan. It’s possible! If you start telling yourself it’s possible and you identify the solution for it, you will no doubt create whatever it is that you are wanting to do. Remember, your unconscious has no idea what’s true and what’s not, it only knows what you tell it. So tell yourself it’s possible and start believing it. 

I’M NOT WORTHY OF THIS

​Have you ever wanted something so badly but deep down you always believed you were actually not worthy of it? Let’s just say you wanted to get into a relationship with a wonderful person who has achieved great things both personally and professionally, but you told yourself that this kind of person will never look at you that way because you are not good enough, that you don’t reach their standards. This is a limiting belief and a big one to be honest. When you don’t believe you are worthy of something, you are de-valuing yourself and with this, eliminating all your amazing qualities that actually make you just as worthy as anybody else. But if you don’t trust yourself and believe this is true, then you will end up living a life where you not worthy of doing the things you want to be doing. You are worth so much; your life is a gift and you were born with a purpose; your existence adds value to the world but you just need to start believing this.  Look at your strengths, focus on all you have done so far that you are proud of and made you happy at some point. Spend time with yourself and start enjoying your own company to see just how valuable your presence really is. You can try meditation, which will help you become more self-aware. Look within, and not externally, because that is where the most attention needs to be paid. When you start looking internally and bring the light to the storm that’s been brewing in there, you will find that your worthiness will soon manifest itself, because it’s there you just have to find it, accept it and embrace it. 

I DON’T DESERVE THIS

​Take a moment and go back in time, as far as you can remember, to a moment when you were just a young kid with lots of dreams. Did you feel invincible? Did something stop you from believing you deserve to grow up and be who you want to be? Your answer is probably no because in your younger days, you hardly focused on self-limiting beliefs because all you knew is what you wanted. Your imagination is more powerful than you think and at that stage, all you are doing is actually using all your resources instead of crowding your mind with limitations because they simply don’t exist. Telling yourself you don’t deserve something is like waking up every morning and not getting out of bed the entire day. You are lying there, awake and living but are you really making use of your day? Are you using your resources, your body, your mind, your passion? Are you productive to the point that you realize what you are good at and what you deserve because you put the hard work in it? You need to start being kind to yourself and to the life you have been given. You need to learn to acknowledge your unique self and be just that! You deserve everything you want to create for yourself and more, but it is your choice to make this happen. Only when you start understanding what you deserve, then you will get it. Those who seek, receive and those who hide will eventually be found. So regardless what path you choose to take, at one point in your life, you will need to face yourself and realize what you deserve. Ask yourself what is stopping you from believing you deserve it? Start now, don’t waste any more time and energy into negative beliefs that have trapped you into an empty bubble of misery. Tell yourself, I deserve to live an abundant life; I deserve happiness and love; I deserve that pay rise; I deserve to have a family; When you decide this, you will start to feel it and believe it.  

You don’t need a magic wand for you to know your life can be truly prosperous and abundant. What you do need is to start using your mind, imagination and passion towards the things you know will bring more beauty in your life. Remember your self-limiting beliefs are simply statements you create for yourself; they are not true! They are simply just sentences you make up to create excuses for what you are so afraid to reach out to.