Do you ever feel that you are constantly putting up blocks to new ideas? Maybe friends and family offer helpful suggestions, but you just can’t see a clear way do things. This may even be experienced at a subconscious level.
It is not uncommon for people to experience self-doubt or limiting beliefs that give them a sense that they are not capable of achieving certain things. It's important to recognise these thoughts and beliefs and challenge them so we can achieve our goals!
As young children these limiting self-beliefs didn’t really exist. If they did, we wouldn’t be able to do many of the things that we do today such as dress ourselves, take a shower, read, write, drive etc. Everything that we can do today we had to do many times over to succeed.
Once we have learnt a process it becomes subconscious so that we don’t even recognise that it was something we once couldn’t do. There is a pattern for everything that we do and a process of how we do it.
Motivation also plays an important part in this process. Think of a time when you really wanted something. How far did you go to make it happen? How many times did you fail but just kept trying? How many ways and ideas did you come up with to achieve what you wanted?
When you experience self-doubt it’s useful to bring into your awareness the thoughts or feelings that you are paying attention to. Ask yourself if these thoughts are valid.
Here are 5 ways to overcome self-limiting beliefs.
1. One helpful way to overcome limiting beliefs is to focus on evidence that contradicts them. For example, if someone is thinking "I couldn't do that," they can ask themselves, "What evidence do I have that supports this belief?" and "What evidence do I have that contradicts this belief?" By examining the evidence objectively, it may become clearer that the belief is not accurate or helpful.
2. Additionally, it can be helpful to focus on strengths and previous successes, and to break down larger goals into smaller, more manageable steps. By taking an action towards a goal, even in small ways, you can build confidence and momentum over time.
3. The most successful people in life are not afraid to fail or try something new. Some of the most creative inventors failed many times over before producing a model that worked. (James Dyson had over 5,000 prototypes that failed!)
4. Overwhelm manifests when we can’t see the steps that are needed to get to the goal. Try to avert your focus from the bigger picture and look at what you can do now to get started on an idea.
5. Practise sentences like “what if it all goes well” instead of catastrophising about what could go wrong, and “why not me” instead of “yes but I couldn’t do that”. Challenge these thoughts ask yourself“how do I determine that I couldn’t do that?”.
Ultimately, it's important to recognise that everyone experiences self-doubt and limiting beliefs at times, but it's possible to overcome them and achieve great things with perseverance.
Try this for yourself, make a list or think about all the things you can do today that once upon a time you found really challenging. See what you come up with and put it in the comments below.
If you found this blog helpful or have a topic that you would like me to cover just comment below. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.
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