Limiting beliefs

Patterns of thought are ideas that we hold on repeat, or we allow to persist. When we take action on an idea, the idea seems to dissipate and leave us alone. When we don’t take action, there is often a contrary idea that is keeping us from moving forward. These contra ideas are what I call a limiting belief, as they limit what you could be doing if you followed your own ideas.

A limiting belief isn’t necessarily bad, or wrong, but it can become a nuisance if you keep having an idea for something you could, or want, to do, and your contra idea keeps you from moving forward.

A limiting belief isn’t necessarily bad, or wrong, but it can become a nuisance if you keep having an idea for something you could, or want, to do, and your contra idea keeps you from moving forward. When this happens, what you need is a spade to excavate the limiting belief. So that you can choose a new one.

Digging up your contra beliefs is fun because most of them are so darn silly that they make you laugh. Yet very few of us sit and ask ourselves, what is keeping me from taking action on this idea I keep having? What idea do I have that prevents me from moving forward? What belief do I hold that is ready for change?

These three questions, if applied to any recurring idea that you are not acting on, will reveal all your blocks. They will help you clear out your mental clutter. And they will help you see the ideas you need to adopt to move forward on your idea.

Here is how: Let’s say you are someone with a genuine desire to help others and you keep thinking, I should volunteer at the animal shelter. Over and over you ruminate on this animal shelter gig, but still you take no action. This is the time to deploy the questions and ask yourself why.

When you do this, here are some contra ideas you might excavate:

• It’s too much trouble to drive over to the facility.
• My allergies act up when I am around animals.
• I have better things to do with my time, and animals aren’t as important as people.

These ideas aren’t necessarily wrong, or bad, but if they are keeping you from doing something you truly want to do, then these ideas are blocks to you achieving your goals.

The solution? Ask yourself, what belief would help me achieve what I truly want? Ask yourself, do I really believe this contra idea, or have I simply practiced it? Ask yourself, what belief would better serve me?

If this person truly wants to volunteer with animals, he might practice these new ideas:

• The drive is easy and I enjoy the music in the car.
• I want to spend my days on activities I want to do.
• My allergies are easily treated with medicine.

See how these new ideas debunk the old ideas? That’s how you swap out a limiting belief.

Limiting beliefs often contain the exact words you need to turn them around, so make it a habit to ask yourself good questions, and to write out your answers. With this one technique you can help a recurring idea make it past the starting line, in your head, where it is ready to run.

One last tidbit: I have noticed that some ideas recur for me so that I can tackle an old, limiting belief, and not because I have a true want, so use this process even if your recirculating idea is not a true want.