Can you overcome limiting beliefs?
The short answer is yes…and it takes time to shift them. These beliefs are ingrained in our brains and may have been there since we were children. Here are some of the types of limiting beliefs that can exist for you: self-limiting beliefs, societal beliefs, and cultural beliefs. These long held beliefs are true for you in your brain and they impact how you see the world, make decisions, and see yourself.
What is a Limiting Belief?
Limiting beliefs are beliefs that we hold about ourselves, others, and the world around us that constrain our potential, hinder our progress and prevent us from achieving our goals. These beliefs can be deeply ingrained and difficult to overcome, but the good news is that they can be addressed and challenged with the right mindset and strategies.
How Can You Challenge Your Limiting Beliefs?
The first step is the awareness that they exist for you and to ask yourself if it is the belief that you still want to hold for yourself. For example, one of my limiting beliefs was that I wasn’t creative. When I was young, I couldn’t draw a straight line (without a ruler) and others in my family had more creative talent, so I created the limiting belief that I wasn’t creative. Fast forward to adulthood and I took an art journaling class online with Brene Brown. The art journal I created turned out so much better than I thought it would! Going through that process changed my limiting beliefs from…I am not creative to believe that I am creative!
Reframing Negative Self-Talk
Going through that experience helped me to reframe my negative self-talk to a more positive view of myself. I also did a lot of journaling at that time. Here is an exercise that you could try if you want to reframe your limiting beliefs.
- Take five minutes and write out any of the negative statements that you think about yourself:
- I am not as smart as other people I work with
- I can’t take that promotion because I don’t have all the requirements that they are asking for
- I can’t run long distances
- Take each of those and turn them into positive statements:
- I am smart and have experiences that may be different than the people that I work with and can complement their knowledge
- I have a majority of the requirements of this potential role and I know that I can learn the rest of them.
- I haven’t run long distances before, but I am training to learn how to do that so I will be ready for the upcoming race.
- Create action steps to prove to yourself that those limiting beliefs are no longer true for you:
- Pick two or three of the limiting beliefs that you want to focus on and identify actions that you can take
- Evaluate your progress and your success to reaffirm that you are growing and changing
Building Self-Awareness
The important part of this exercise is that it will increase your self-awareness. It will help you see yourself differently, and give you the motivation to start taking new actions that change that belief and shift your thinking for the long term. This process won’t completely eliminate the limiting thought right away. However, it will teach you how to have that thought and shift it to a positive one quickly, so you can rewire those long held beliefs to be positive.
This process will work for both your professional and your personal life. If you aren’t achieving your bigger goals, it may be because of a limiting belief. Don’t let it hold you back and prevent you from reaching your own definition of success. I have been through this experience myself and now I coach others to reframe their beliefs. I have seen the limitations that we can place on ourselves and want you to recognize it may be happening to you too. Let’s focus on how to overcome your limiting beliefs and achieve your full potential!