Overcoming Limiting Beliefs: Transform Your Mindset for Personal Growth
Do you feel unfulfilled?
Is there a little voice that tells you
You’re not good enough?
You need more experience?
You don’t have enough time?
Or something else that’s equally obstructive?
These are limiting beliefs. They are a thought or state of mind that you think is the absolute truth and they prevent you from doing certain things. These beliefs can affect various aspects of your life including your personal development to personal growth and interpersonal relationships. They are formed over a period of many years, taking you through events and experiences since birth.
How do you identify limiting beliefs?
The first step in overcoming limiting beliefs is to identify them. This requires introspection and honesty. For instance, common limiting beliefs include thoughts like "I'm not good enough to do that," "I’m not smart enough to be on that programme," or "I’m too old to start now”. These beliefs are often instilled in us through past experiences, societal expectations, and personal comparisons.
The one that resonates with me is “I’m not good enough”. Growing up there was a lot of comparisons between families, or at least that is what it felt like. I used to compare myself to my peers and use it as a form of motivation, which was sometimes a useful strategy. The downside of it was that when expectations weren’t met, demotivation and negative self talk would follow; one needs that in their life!
These days, I’m less bothered about comparing myself to other people. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen anymore, but I am more aware and will stop and question myself before I start comparing. After all, I could be comparing lemons with bananas and that would be ludicrous, we are both yellow, but we have nothing else in common.
How did I change my limiting belief?
When I was volunteering in Sri Lanka, I was introduced to the fact that we could let go of unhelpful, out of date beliefs, and furthermore, you could replace them with new improved beliefs! Wow! Who would have thought? Recognising that beliefs are not absolute truths but perceptions that can be challenged and changed was an eye opener. This new found awareness was the foundation of my personal growth. Over the following years, my business coaches reinforced the importance of mindset in personal and professional growth.
Transforming Limiting Beliefs
Coaching plays a significant role in transforming limiting beliefs. A coach provides an objective perspective, helping you to question and reframe your beliefs. They guide you in discovering alternative perspectives, such as shifting from "I’m not good enough" to "I will become good if I do X and Y consistently". A coach can help you plan the steps needed to get to get you to a place of competency. This process not only challenges the limiting belief but also fosters a growth mindset.
How Limiting Beliefs Affect Physical Health
In my current lime of work, I often hear "I don’t have enough time" for exercise. This limiting belief affects physical health. Is it really a lack of time or a misalignment of priorities? How much time do you spend scrolling on your phone – you know your phone has an app that records this, so go check it!
Now let me ask you this….when you are 70 years old, how do you want to feel physically and mentally? Will scrolling social media or will exercise help you achieve this? Hopefully, your answers were good health and mobility and exercise would help.
Many of the clients I work with are fed up and frustrated with chronic pain holding them back; they often believe nothing can help them and they are too old. For the majority, one session results in a total change in mindset. Their pain considerably subsides and their movement greatly improves. Their belief that nothing can help or that they are too old is transformed in under an hour.
Beliefs can be challenged and transformed, so long as you are willing and ready. So if you are seeking more fulfilment in life, what is it that is holding you back?
My name is Sabrina Qua and I am on a mission to empower women to break free from limitations and reconnect with themselves, so they can live lives they are excited about. If you feel like you’ve been living your life on auto pilot and you’re not happy with where you are heading or maybe you’ve just lost your way and life has become a bit of a slog, the good news is you can change this.
By exploring who you are and what’s important to you, you will become clear on what you want and how you want to live your life. Clarity and vision is the most effective way to creating a fulfilled, joyous life you are excited about. Personal growth requires work, but it can also be so much fun, so I ask you to keep an open mind, be curious and get ready to live your best life.
I welcome you to join me on Facebook Where We Thrive
If you’d like to gain instant clarity, download your Reflect and Reset Guide – 3 steps to becoming unstuck.