Episode 11: Bringing Light to Limiting Beliefs
Reveal + Replace as Needed
We dig into how to reveal what limiting thoughts your mind is creating and learn how to replace them with something more useful!
Enjoy!
Listen Here:
(The notes below are only a brief summary of what is discussed in the podcast. Be sure to listen to get all of the goodness! If you would like a full transcription of the episode, please send an email request to: angie@angie-robinson.com. We’d be happy to provide that!)
In episodes 9 & 10 – I talked about the Magic of Mindset and my Top 10 Tips for doing thought work.
I shared with you one of my favorite tools to use in doing thought work called “The Model”. Here in the essence: our thoughts create our feelings which drive our actions – which ultimately create our results.
In this episode – I want to focus more on thoughts and the concept of Limiting Beliefs. I believe that limiting beliefs are actually there to teach us something - so let’s bring the light to them!
This topic is not exclusive to one type of person or role. It is for anyone with a human brain. You – as a leader – will benefit so much when it comes to your confidence, your connections and your ability to show up the way you want to.
Did you know that we have 50,000 – 70,000 thoughts every day? 95% of those fall into that ‘negative’ category. When we accept that the thought is true – the thought becomes a belief. A belief is an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.
We accumulate our beliefs a variety of ways:
Things we learned from childhood
Where we grew up
Education
Societal norms
Things that people told us
The conclusion we draw from life experiences
The leaders we have worked for
Some of our believes become LIMITING beliefs. These are a barrier that causes us to miss out on the things we want.
They are still a belief if we hold them as truth. But they prevent us from growing, achieving our goals, taking risks or new opportunities or becoming the people we want to be.
Our brain is doing its job - it is trying to keep us safe – protecting us from humiliation, rejections, disappointment, etc.
The most successful leader and the most successful person falls victim to limiting beliefs. Nobody is exempt from this.
Here are some common examples of limiting beliefs that leaders might have:
Leaders are supposed to have the answers.
Good leaders never show signs of weakness.
Showing emotion makes you a weak leader.
I’ll never be as good as….
I’m too young.
I’m too old.
Others do it better.
Or any version of “I’m not good enough”.
Sometimes they show up as thoughts that actually seem USEFUL and GOOD - so you have to watch for that!
With this one concept of really understanding limiting beliefs – we can move out of what often holds us back from accomplishing our goals or doing the things we want to do.
Bringing awareness to your thoughts and beliefs requires you to establish a healthy and vulnerable relationship with yourself and your mind. It’s being real about how you feel about yourself and what you believe about yourself – and cleaning that up where necessary. The how we do things will constantly evolve and change – so being clean with our thoughts and beliefs will help us to stay on track – regardless of the changes.
But this takes intention. It takes work.
I believe that what we think about – we create. We need to make sure our thoughts are ones that work for us – not against us. When we allow limiting beliefs to drive our actions or inactions – the world (your team, your organization, your clients) are missing out on the best version of yourself.
HOW TO IDENTIFY LIMITING BELIEFS:
Start with self awareness. Think of something that you want (like a goal), or something that you’ve been wanting to say to someone, or a conversation you’ve wanted to have or a way you want to show up but haven’t.
Do a thought download. Write down all of the thoughts you have about the situation (the good, the bad). Could also guide yourself with some questions.
What do you believe about your yourself (in relation to this situation)?
What are the lessons about the situation that you were taught throughout your life?
What do you believe about your ability to create what you want?
From your thought download - pull out the limiting beliefs (those thoughts that don’t serve you). You might know because of the feeling you get when you think it - often an uncomfortable or negative feeling.
If you identify several limiting beliefs, pick the one that is sticks out to you the most.
NOW WHAT?
Get Curious. Ask questions: is this really true? What if I’m wrong? What if it’s not true? How might someone else in my same position look at this?
Edit the Belief. Re-write the belief - but make sure it is believable.
Make it Visible.
Practice!
Believe. The way you know if you believe are by the actions you take and the results you create.
REMINDERS:
All thoughts are optional
Give yourself grace – judgement doesn’t serve
Be patient
Be comfortable with the uncomfortable
“The only limits in your life are the ones you create with your mind.” Unknown
What do you think?
Have you ever thought about this concept of “limiting beliefs”?
Are you able to identify any limiting beliefs you have?
How might you replace them?
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