Benefacto Consulting

“If you accept a limiting belief, then it will become a truth for you.”

– Louise Hay

A limiting belief is a set of assumptions that you may think are true but limits the way you live. Those beliefs could be about your perceptions of yourself, other people, or the world in general. As long as you don’t challenge and accept them without question, they stay hidden in your mind and limit your life. 

No one can imprison our minds. Instead, we imprison ourselves through the clasping power of our limiting beliefs. They exist all the time, and they run our lives without us being aware of them.

Beliefs become one with whom people think they are. In other words, the beliefs they hold on determine their identity as individuals. You might have heard instances where people would even fight until death for what they believe. They are highly ignorant of the fact that they are far beyond those assumed beliefs.

The beliefs that you had formed might have protected you from facing emotional pain, physical pain, or hurt because of feelings during your childhood. However, as an adult, they no longer serve you. Instead, they obstruct you from utilizing your full potential. They limit you from living the life you desire. They curtain your confidence in making bold decisions, cause hindrance in letting you follow your passion, and create obstruction in realizing your life purpose. Limiting beliefs form barriers to accomplishing your aspirations.

Appreciate yourself for being part of a minuscule percentage of people in the world who are aware that their beliefs are not who they are. And pat yourself on the back for being willing to take action to overcome restraints and reclaim your absolute freedom. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have taken this course in the first place.

David Stracker, the author of “Changing Mindset”, states “Limiting beliefs are those which constrain us in some way just by believing them, we do not think, do or say things that they inhibit. Limiting beliefs primarily start with phrases like I do/don’t, I can’t, I must/ mustn’t, I am/am not, Others are/ will’ and ‘how will the world works.’ We primarily limit our beliefs through Experience, Education, Faculty logic, Excuse and Fear.”

In case you are struck, accept responsibility as you are right now to make progress. You are on a continuous journey of growth and evolution. There are no mistakes or failures. Instead, consider them as learning and move ahead.

Before overcoming or replacing a limiting belief, you may hold, you need to identify them. There are several ways to identify limiting beliefs based on what we learn in the earlier section. Life is a mirror. You can bring your head and beliefs. To the surface by reflecting on your life.

List the areas of life where you struggle

Notice the areas in your life where you may face frequent challenges and repeated failures. List the obstacles. You may often come across and observe how they block your progress. Some of your limiting beliefs might be an outcome of a few predominantly recurring struggles you may encounter. Analyze each of your challenges and recognize the limiting beliefs applicable to that challenge. This exercise will give you a comprehensive list of limiting beliefs.

Brain-Dump all your beliefs

In free-flow, write down all your beliefs that come to your mind without judgment. List down everything you feel impacts you significantly either positively or negatively. You may consider some of these to be an integral part of yourself. You might even be ready to debate or argue with others who challenged those firmly held beliefs among the beliefs you’ve identified. Segregate them as limiting or empowering beliefs based on how they influence your life.

Observe like a witness – Self-analysis

Witness your life impartially, like a detached observer. Keenly observe your internal dialogue. Start paying close attention to what you think, and notice the words you use while talking to others. Assess your behavior and evaluate your habits. As you deeply observe yourself, you can determine the limiting beliefs beneath the service that impact how you feel.

In her TEDx talk, the secret of becoming mentally strong, Amy Moran says there are 3 kinds of destructive beliefs that make us less effective and robbers of our mental health. They are (1) unhealthy beliefs about ourselves that mostly come about when we are uncomfortable with our feelings emotions. (2) Unhealthy beliefs about others. We think that other people can control us and give away our power. (3) unhealthy beliefs about the world we tend to think that the world owes us something.

Identifying limiting beliefs is not easy, but with practice you can find various beliefs that hide from your usual perception.

There are innumerable limiting beliefs. Let us go through some examples in different areas of life, along with the sample list. Let us also look at some reasons why these limiting beliefs are not real.

1.About yourself.

·        I am not good enough.

·        I am unworthy and don’t deserve good things in life. 

·        I must not spend time caring for myself.

·        I don’t trust anyone, and the world is hostile.

·        I am powerless and can never be successful.

·        I always react and can’t keep my emotions in check.

Remember You are an eternal being and worthy enough of all good that life has to offer. You have all the power within you and are capable of doing anything. Deep inside, You are essentially divine and complete in all respects.

2. Health / Body Image

• I am too fat/ thin/ short/ tall/ ugly/ sick. 
• I can’t lose/ gain weight. 
• My body parts are ugly and sinful. 
• I don’t have time to exercise. 
• I don’t like healthy food as they are bland. 
• I have a sweet tooth and can’t avoid eating junk food. 

Your body is like a shrine to the divine being that you are. Every part of your body is sacred. Physical beauty is only skin deep. You are magnificent spiritual beings who is learning, evolving and growing in this physical form. Having a sound and healthy body is crucial for Spiritual growth. It’s vital to take complete care of your body, be strong minded and empower yourself with emotional control.

3. Relationships.

•  I am not lovable. 
• I can’t maintain good relationships with anyone. 
• I can’t express my true feelings. 
• Everyone is terrible and selfish. 
• I can’t get along with anybody. 

Your real nature is one of the unconditional. When you remove all the false layers around York or you will uncover a being that radiates pure love, you are one with everyone, everything and all there is in existence. Know that deep inside everyone is good.

4. Money.

•  I can’t save money. 
• I must work very hard to earn a living.
• It’s not spiritual to make money for myself.
• Rich people are immoral and greedy. 
• I’m gullible and get cheated. 

Your true nature is one of abundance. Money is a form of energy, and you are worthy of having that resource. But the essential part is that it needs to be circulated and not hoarding. Having a good heart. You will utilize money as a valuable resource to live comfortably and help others.

5. Work / Career

• I am not recognized for my hard work. 
• I can’t grow up the corporate ladder. 
• Senior level leaders focus only on results and not on people. 
• I don’t love my work. 
• I don’t have time for anything else other than my strange job. 
• I am not capable of becoming an entrepreneur. 

It’s essential to take action to live a life of purpose. Work enables you to accomplish your goals by doing what you are passionate about. You can create a livelihood if you do not aspire for something, It is vital to learn to love what you do. No worker job in the world is in. All work is done to serve someone ultimately. 

We have looked into the origin of beliefs and some simple methods to recognize and identify limiting beliefs. Now let’s move on to understand how to drop or replace those limiting beliefs.