Written by: Sasa Evans, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
As human beings, we are affected by the mindset we have toward certain areas or aspects of our lives. Limiting beliefs are one of the causes of negative or poor mindset. Limiting beliefs must be challenged and replaced to get unstuck and re-wire our mindset.
Mindset is shaped by our beliefs, and environment, especially the environment we grew up in, the people around us, and the people we grow up being around. This affects the way we talk to ourselves, whether we doubt or believe in ourselves, and how we think we can or cannot do things. It is, therefore, an important part of us that needs to be nurtured, and when it goes the wrong way, needs to be refocused so that we continue living the life that is fulfilling to us and gives us the joy of being alive. Having a poor mindset about money will affect how you deal with it, attract it, or if you are an entrepreneur or businessperson, it affects how you charge for your services.
I grew up in a small village and my life was influenced mostly by the Zion sect to which we belonged. The teachings were always centered on hell and fire and the one which impacted my money mindset was the constant teaching about how “money was the root of all evil.” I discovered later that this was a gross misinterpretation of 1 Timothy 6:10 which says: “The love of money is the root of all evil” However in our church the emphasis was on money being the root of evil instead of the love of it.
This created in me a poor money mindset which viewed being rich as a bad thing. Luckily, there is something we can do to challenge the beliefs which distort the way we view the world and our lives and start building a positive mindset that enables us to get unstuck.
Sometimes it takes a long time to identify that we have beliefs that are limiting us and hence we stay stuck and wonder why. Mindset is informed by both negative/limiting and positive/enabling beliefs. The big question is how you identify the limiting beliefs. There are a variety of assessments you can take to help you identify beliefs that are limiting and hence do not serve you. You can access a downloadable worksheet that has 10 questions you can ask yourself to identify your limiting beliefs.
It is so important to identify beliefs.
Because once you identify [a negative belief], once you bring it into the light, you will see it doesn't belong to you:
That it came from your parents;
It came from your family;
It came from your society;
It came from your friends.
And you bought into it. But it isn't yours. Holding on to something that isn't yours is called theft. Don't be a belief thief! Let go of what isn't yours.” ― Bashar
Steps you can take now to overcome limiting beliefs.
Once you have identified the limiting beliefs you need to proactively take steps to overcome them. It is important to keep repeating some of these steps to help you catch them if they try to crop up again.
1. Challenge the belief
This is the second most important step. Once you have identified the beliefs you need to challenge them. You ask yourself questions like: is this true? Is there evidence to support this belief? Try and work out how this belief came to be in your mind.
In my case, with the help of my coach, I was able to pinpoint the source of this belief about money. To challenge it I read and used different interpretations and Bible concordances to get the real meaning of verse 1 Tim. 6:10. This allowed me to form my truth about the belief and challenged it with the true meaning if it tried to crop up on me.
2. Affirm yourself with positive alternatives to the limiting belief
This can be done by harnessing the power of positive imagination. Imagine and see yourself free of this limiting belief, what do you like about what you see? What will your life be like if you are no longer held back by this belief? Aspire for that life and work on reaching it.
3. Empower yourself with countering positive beliefs
What positive things can you think about that show clearly that the former belief was not true? Hold on to this new belief and use it anytime the old try to crop up on you.
In my case, I empowered myself with the truth that being rich is not a problem. Actually, it is a good thing because you become in a position to help others. I started sponsoring children from underprivileged communities and this to me showed and demonstrated the good of having money in abundance, I can use it for good.
4. Test the new belief with practical evidence
When testing your new belief use things or situations you can see. Do not use theoretical situations as this will not grow the new belief firmly in your mindset. The evidence can be something like; you are now able to support causes next to your heart and the joy it gives you to do that.
5. Be always aware of your own behaviors and actions as you build and entrench the new belief in your mindset
Observe all the time how this new belief is making you feel, how is your behavior now that you have a new and positive belief? If it doesn’t feel good then maybe the new belief is not what you need, go through the steps again until you find one that feels good to you.
Our mind is like a computer operating system, it can be upgraded with newer better beliefs that grow and tune our mindset for success.
Access the 10 Questions to identify limiting beliefs in your life. This is my gift to you.
Apply here for an opportunity to work with Sasa Evans. Let’s overcome and banish those limiting beliefs.
I’d love to know if you have read my article and what you took out of it. Follow me on LinkedIn and you can send me a message there. You can also get tools, motivation, and educational material to support you as you reframe and refocus your mindset.
You can also check out my YouTube channel for inspiration and how-to steps.
I am grateful that you are reading my article.
Sasa Evans, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Sasa Evans is a holistic mindset and life coach for women who want more confidence and transformation in their lives. Sasa had a very emotionally abusive first marriage which had a damaging effect on her mindset, and it took her a long time to regain her confidence and create a life she desired. She realised that emotional abuse does not leave visible scars and people tend to hide it, even though they are hurting. Her passion is to empower women to take positive steps to rebuild self-confidence with determined passion, unconstrained self-belief, and have absolute joy in their life. She is CEO of Sasa Evans coaching, and an accredited life coach, certified Reiki practitioner and holistic modalities coach.
