Written by: Nadia Chapman, 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.
Have you heard of limiting beliefs before? If you are a self-development junkie, or have done some inner work with a coach or mentor, you might have heard about them and how they stop us from creating long lasting transformation. Limiting beliefs are thoughts and opinions that we consider as being the undeniable truth, and the stories we have been told or that we are telling ourselves over and over again. Unfortunately, limiting beliefs stop us from creating change in our lives, and they get in the way when it comes to stepping out of our cozy comfort zone. This uncompromising way of thinking prevents us from taking action, accomplishing our goals, and creating the new identity we need to step into our best self!
We all have limiting beliefs! In this article, I will help you identify yours, and give you tips on how to move past them so you can free yourself from the power they have over you, and change the lenses from which you view yourself and the world.
Limiting beliefs are so deeply rooted inside of us that they are ruling our lives and emotions without us even knowing. It all started a long time ago, when we were in our mother’s womb! Researchers discovered that a fetus is like a sponge, it will absorb everything and react to the voices and noises coming from the outside world. It will also respond to the emotions the mother is feeling during her pregnancy. Since emotions are hormones being released and chemical reactions, they are constantly being passed on to the unborn child. When the baby is born, more beliefs will be created as the child grows and develops. As we get older and we observe the people and situations around us, we create beliefs that will shape our view of the world, but also who we are and what we are capable of accomplishing.
A lot of the beliefs we hold, come from our parents. It can be a good thing if they are empowering beliefs, but sometimes they can be limiting, destructive and disempowering. Your parents also probably “inherited ” some of their limiting beliefs from their own parents! Let’s look at common limiting beliefs. You’ve heard of “life is hard”, “money is the root of all evil”, “boys don’t cry”, “I’m too old or I’m too young for that”, “I’ve never been good at that”, etc. These are things we hear again and again, and that we believe to be true without really questioning it anymore!
When a belief is blocking you, and closing your heart and mind to new ways and new possibilities, it’s time to let it go and create your own constructive beliefs. Clear the old beliefs to make room for the new ones! Make a conscious decision to think out of the box, and no longer feed those beliefs any energy or attention. Instead, choose beliefs that will help you get unstuck and grow into the person you want to become. Here are some other great ways to kick your limiting beliefs to the curb!
Write down the old beliefs, and replace with the new ones
Write down all of the limiting beliefs that you hold inside of you, and lay them down on paper so you can go over them one by one. Next to each of them, write a new positive empowering belief. For instance, next to: “bad things always happen to me” you can say: “I attract good luck and great opportunities in my life.” Close your eyes, and start believing, and feeling in your gut that you are lucky and attract wonderful things in your life. The more you practice this simple visualization, the easier it will get and you will slowly replace your old way of thinking to a new more optimistic view on things.
Look for evidence and embody a new you
Surely, you know someone or have heard of someone that embodies the results you are looking for. What are their beliefs? How come some people get to move past their blockages and achieve their goals? If others can move past their own limiting beliefs, well you can do it too! Look for someone who takes risks, has an open mind, and is successful and content in life. Then ask yourself, ”what beliefs do I need to let go in order to get unstuck, achieve my goal and move past this roadblock?” Think about your role models? What do you think are their beliefs about the world and about themselves? Start adopting their behavior and ways of thinking, and open the door to new possibilities and ways of doing things. Let other people inspire you to think differently, and create new beliefs so you can have different results in life.
Let go and don’t be stuborn!
Learn to be flexible with your thoughts and beliefs. Holding on to beliefs that have been there for years gives us a sense of stability in our lives. Unfortunately, it’s also what is holding us back. Being stubborn and insisting that things stay the same, and believing the same old stuff is the reason you haven’t been able to achieve the transformation you desire. If you want things to change, you will have to change the way you see things! It’s that simple! Your old way of thinking is what is stopping you from starting that new job, and it’s keeping you in the same old daily routine, and getting the same results. We get comfortable with our beliefs, in a way they make us feel safe and in control. Try to picture yourself doing the things on your bucket list. The things that light you up inside! Then ask, what is stopping me right now from taking action? The opinion of others? The fear of failing? I’m too old, or too young or that’s too expensive and not for me? What comes up? These are your limiting beliefs! When you start dreaming, and suddenly you push on the break peddle! Imagine all the possibilities that will open up for you once you eliminate the harmful beliefs that were passed on to you! Think about all the stuff you missed out on in life from believing unfounded concepts and baseless opinions. Hanging on to old convictions is like making ourselves prisoners in our own lives, and simply prevents beautiful new things from happening!
Eliminating your limiting beliefs starts with catching yourself as soon as the negative chatter starts in your head. Make a conscious effort to notice it, stop it and then replace it with empowering and positive beliefs. If you want to design a life you want, you will have to create a whole new belief system. Have fun seeing things differently, and doors will open, opportunities will show up in your life, and you will be able to step into your full potential. So, next time you think of something that scares you or goes against your beliefs, flip it, and think the opposite! You might be thinking that you will fall, but what if you succeed?
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Nadia Chapman, Executive Contributor Brainz Magainze Nadia Chapman is a leader in transformational coaching. She is a certified health and life coach, Law of attraction and success coach and NLP practitioner. She loves to bring her wisdom, contagious optimism, and life experience to her many projects and with her clients. Nadia is also a professional figure skating coach and lives on an organic farm, she understands first hand that a healthy body and mind is the foundation to a happy life. She is the host of "The Nadia Chapman Show", a podcast designed to inspire and motivate people with life-changing hacks on habit change, positive mindset and wellness. Nadia was born in Montreal, Canada, lived in France for many years before settling in Southern California with her family.
