What are limiting beliefs ?

Today, I want to talk about beliefs and how they impact the results you get (?or don’t get?) in life

First, let’s understand what are beliefs

In simple terms, beliefs are:

Your view of yourself and

Your view of others and the world in general

"I believe that I have what it takes to be successful at workplace"

"I believe that I don’t have enough experience to become the CEO"

These are examples of beliefs you may have about yourself

"I believe that he did not deserve a promotion"

"I believe that everybody should be honest"

These are examples of beliefs you might have about others

Beliefs develop over a period of time

Your upbringing, your education, your family values, your experiences - all these shape up your beliefs over time

These beliefs determine how you interact with the outside world

They shape up your thoughts and the actions you take

On one hand, some of these beliefs are so strong that they become your guiding principles

They are a source of positive encouragement and reinforcement

On the other hand, some of these beliefs become what we call as?limiting beliefs

They limit you from growing and moving ahead

They limit you from taking action

They hold you back

They become your excuse for not doing something

Hence you stay where you are

Your situation does not change

And the more you continue to believe in them, the more they seem like the truth

Not just that....

You constantly look for evidences to substantiate them (?even though they may not be true?)

I am not good enough

I am too old

I don’t have time

I don’t think I can do

I don’t think I am capable enough

I don’t think I am CEO material

I don’t think I deserve it

These are some examples of limiting beliefs you might have about yourself

These eventually translate into a state which you start believing in....

I am too old for this job (?hence you end up not applying for that job and as a consequence, you don’t get that job?)?

I don’t have time to pursue my passion (?hence you remain discontent and unsatisfied?)

I am not good enough?to enter into a new relationship?(?hence you don’t approach someone you really like and as a consequence, remain without a strong and loving relationship?)

These limiting beliefs actually become your narrative, a story which you tell to yourself every single day

And the more you tell yourself these stories, the more they become real for you

It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy

Limiting beliefs = stories you tell to yourself

It’s easier to create a story to justify yourself and stay where you are than to take action, right ?

Now that you know what limiting beliefs are, I will teach you a simple yet powerful technique to deal with them and overcome them

It’s a 3-step process which I have designed A.I.R ( Awareness, Impact, Reframe )

First Step - Awareness

Take a step back and note down your own limiting beliefs

What are the stories you are telling to yourself ?

Here are some more examples of beliefs people have ( for your reference )

I believe that I will not get promoted because I don’t have an education from a premier institute

I believe that I cannot enjoy my life because I don’t have enough money

I believe that if I will try out a new business, I will fail

I believe that I cannot take on the new project because I don’t have the right skill set

I cannot speak in front of senior leaders because I believe that I will end up saying something incorrect or out of context

Now you write down atleast 5 of your beliefs ( personal and professional )

I believe that……

Second Step – Impact

Note down the impact these beliefs are having in your life

What are they preventing you from achieving ?

Here are some more examples for your reference :

I cannot speak in front of senior leaders because I believe that I will end up saying something incorrect or out of context

Impact?– It prevents you from speaking up in key meetings and hence, you are not able to create visibility for yourself

I believe that if I try out a new business, I will fail

Impact?– You remain stuck in a job even though you truly want to become an entrepreneur. You feel unhappy and unsatisfied

Third Step – Reframe

Reframe means seeing the same situation from a different lens, from a different perspective

The easiest way to reframe is to note down a counter fact -?something which will help you challenge your own belief

You can make the reframe more powerful by giving evidences to support your counterfacts

The template to use is as below :

I believe that…….( your limiting belief ) but the TRUTH is……( a counter fact ). For example…( Evidence to support counter fact )

Here are some examples on how to reframe :

I believe that?if I try out a new business, I will fail?but the TRUTH is?that I have always tried new things in the past and every time I have succeeded. For example,?I took up a new functional role recently in my company and very quickly learnt how to manage the entire process

I cannot speak in front of senior leaders because?I believe that?I will end up saying something incorrect or out of context?but the TRUTH is that?I usually prepare well for such meetings. I am usually one of the experts in such meetings and whenever I speak, I always add a new dimension to the discussion. It is very rare that I will speak anything out of context

Once you reframe your belief, you will realize that what you were believing upto this point in time was just a belief –?it was not a fact, as the truth was complete different

This awareness will pave the way for you to take some different action to achieve a different result

More importantly, this will help you shed off the old story you were telling yourself and create a new story, a new beginning….

I would be interested to know what came up for you as you read today’s article

Do share your thoughts and feedback

Till then

Stay safe and stay healthy

Harsh

P.S. - Whenever you are ready to take action and change course, you can book a short exploratory call here (Book Your Call)