I like to describe limiting beliefs as sort of the cartoon of a little devil standing on your shoulder whispering in your ear what you should do that is most likely not in your best interest. Limiting beliefs are similar in such a way as they are the little voices you hear that keep you form doing something new, something outside of your comfort zone, or even something that can make a huge difference in yours or the life of someone else in a positive way.

 

Often times I get an idea that I should try something new and different, take a chance and boom, a wee little voice in my head says, “What are you thinking? You don’t know anything about how to do that. You know if you try it you will fail.” Much like this blog, when I decided that I was going to put this together and allow my thoughts to be seen by anyone who wants to see them, that little voice popped up and said, “You are crazy, what do you know about blogging? What makes you an expert in anything, you are going to make a fool out of yourself.” Well, guess what? Here it is, the start of a blog. I am stifling that little voice and starting bravely to put my thoughts and ideas out in the public.

 

Where do these limiting beliefs come from? Although I can’t specifically pinpoint the origin of these belifs, I can comfortably say that many come from our parents. They come from a time when our brains were young and quite formable, we started to hear them. Many times, it was not out of malice that these ideas were expressed to us, they were not said to harm us but rather to protect us from harm. “Mommy, let me cut my meat, ‘No dear, you will cut your finger off.’” These may be the start of a belief that you will never be good at using power tools. “Daddy, take off my training wheels, ‘No son, you will fall and hurt yourself.’” This may be why we are afraid to try something challenging where harm may be a possibility, but a real joy could be realized if we did try it.

 

How can we overcome limiting beliefs? First off, remember from an earlier post that our beliefs are always negotiable. We need to replace limiting beliefs with our own beliefs…beliefs that are based on our values, morals, knowledge, and experiences. Limiting beliefs are based on someone elses ideas and systems of understanding, not ours. When you are faced with dealing with a limiting belief, take a moment and reflect on how this belief came to be and is it really in alignment with our selves as we know our selves, or are we behaving in a manner that is based on how others would behave. You need to own your own set of beliefs and not be tethered to the beliefs of others.