C-Suite Network™

Overcoming Limiting Beliefs

Have you ever made a statement like “I’m not good at math” or “I have two left feet and would never make a good dancer”? These are examples of limiting beliefs that often falsely define you, and limit the options and possibilities in your life.

A limiting belief is a state of mind, conviction, or belief that you think to be true that limits you in some way. This limiting belief could be about you, your interactions with other people, or with the world and how it works.

Limiting beliefs can have a number of negative effects on you. They could keep you from making good choices, taking new opportunities, or reaching your potential. Ultimately, limiting beliefs can keep you stuck in a negative state of mind and hinder you from living the life you truly desire.

The good thing about limiting beliefs is that you have the power to change them at any time. This doesn’t mean that doing so will be an easy process, but commitment and a greater level of self-awareness can make it possible.

Make a list of every possible limitation you can think of that prevents you from achieving a truly abundant, happy, prosperous life. Include information about your own fears and doubts, as well as any perceived shortage of opportunities in your life. Then examine each one carefully and decide if it’s really true or not. You may be surprised at some of the things you’ve convinced yourself to believe!

It’s also important to keep challenging these false perceptions on a regular basis, because some of them may be embedded pretty solidly into your subconscious mind. Logically, you may know that there’s nothing holding you back, but then you still find yourself hesitating or procrastinating. If you keep challenging your limiting perceptions, and you take action despite them, they’ll begin to fade away and eventually disappear. You’ll have convinced yourself that they’re not true after all.

Now that you’re starting to transform your perceptions of limits, you’re in a much better position to begin taking focused action. The question is: What kind of action should you take? All of the richest and most successful people in the world have one thing in common: they found a way to contribute value to the world and are rewarded well for their efforts.

Think about that for a minute. The seeds of your wealth are tucked away in a surprising place: in your greatest interests and passions. Of course, simply following your passions isn’t enough. You also have to find a way to make your passions pay. That means finding a way to use your interests and talents to contribute value to the world. This can be done in any number of ways:

  1. Find What You Love

In order to have an abundant life, you need to figure out what it is that you love doing. Many times, we try to do something that others do, simply because they are successful. The more you will align with what you love doing, the more abundance you will attract in your life.

  1. Feel What You Want

It is not only important to identify what you want but it is more important to feel what you want. The more you will align with the feeling you want in your life, the more you will attract it in your life.

  1. Appreciate What You Have

A simple step to abundance is to start recognizing how rich your life already is. Take the time to appreciate what you have in your life. Maybe it is health, people you love, your colleagues, skills, or the simple beauty of nature that surround you every day. You will find yourself realizing how abundant your life is and that what you need is right there in front of you.

  1. Accept and Let Go

The opposite of an abundant life is scarcity. In order to move yourself from that space of “not enough” you need to accept that sometimes you don’t have what you want at that moment.  You need to let go of destructive thinking patterns and instead, focus your energy on what you want to create in your life. When you realize that you don’t have something, rephrase to state what you want to have.

In order to overcome limiting beliefs, you must train yourself to turn your attention away from anything that distracts you from focusing on your well-being.  You have to stop obsessing over the challenges and problems in your life. A good rule is: Do what you can to improve the current situation, then immediately move on to more positive pursuits.

Refuse to wallow in setbacks; avoid spending hours a day worrying about what you don’t have;  don’t talk yourself out of taking action because you might possibly fail. Be proactive and precise in your actions and keep focused on where you want to be, not where you don’t want to be.

Only you have the power to change limiting beliefs – and you can change them any time. The world can become full of options, opportunities and possibilities with a greater level of self-awareness – and a commitment to overcome your own limiting beliefs.

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