4 Common Limiting Beliefs and Ways to Overcome Them

Have you had a goal in mind for a long time but struggle to reach it? Do you find yourself stuck? Have you had lots of ideas of what you want but you don’t ever seem to be able to follow through or get there? The issue may be stemming from your limiting beliefs.

What are limiting beliefs and how are they affecting your life?

Limiting beliefs are negative thoughts we have about our abilities based on past experience and feelings of self worth.

What are limiting beliefs that you may have about achieving goals you may have?

Here are 4 common limiting beliefs to get you started.

1. Thinking everything has to be “perfect” in order to be happy. So often the striving for perfectionism keeps us held back. We have to keep in mind that we did not always have the abilities we have now, at some point we weren’t good at them and had to learn. It’s better to try and fail then fail to try!
2. Making excuses for behaviors (instead of looking for solutions). Many times people say they didn’t follow through on a goal because they didn’t have the time, money or education. If these are common things you say to yourself you may be just looking for excuses. We tend to figure out how to do things we really want to do. I had a client that really wanted to go overseas to see her family but didn’t have the money or the time. A relative died and she immediately dropped everything to go on the trip. Her priorities had shifted and suddenly time and money were not an issue.
3. Failure to complete projects in the past. Are you someone that doesn’t finish anything they start? If in the past we have not followed through with completing tasks we start to lose trust in our abilities to complete them now. You may not even be aware you are doing it. The best thing to do in this case is to make a list of the things you haven’t completed and make a plan on how and when to complete them.
4. Fear. The fear may be of change, success or failure! We become so used to our “suffering” that we lose sight of who we are without it. We are not our past, we get to create our future in each breath we take. What would life be like if you finally lost that weight or went on that trip etc?

What are limiting beliefs that are holding you back? Take a minute and write down everything that comes to mind.

How can you overcome these limiting beliefs?

For each of your beliefs ask yourself these 5 questions.

1. Are my thoughts real or imagined?
2. Is this belief cultural or a stereotype I learned along the way?
3. What events have happened in my past to make me feel this way?
4. Have I made up certain “rules” that may be keeping me from moving forward?
5. How can I turn the negatives into positives?

Once you understand what your limiting beliefs are, look for solutions to the issues.  How can you turn the negative phrase in your head into a positives?  The more positively we use self-talk and learn from past mistakes the easier it is not to be stuck and move forward in our goals.  Do you see any unhealthy patterns in yourself?

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.  Stop using ways that have not worked for you in the past and start making changes now!