I'm always wary of buzz words and phrases, but ‘limiting beliefs’ - which has made an appearance on social media a lot lately - has my attention.
But what are limiting beliefs? And how is it that our beliefs can affect the course of our lives?
Firstly, let’s define what beliefs are: Beliefs are our on-and-off buttons. They determine everything we can do, and everything we can’t.
If you believe something is possible, it is. If you believe something is not possible, it is not.
So, where did our beliefs come from? Many people don’t realise that most of our beliefs are not our own.
"Wait, what? How can my beliefs not be my own if they are my beliefs??”
In fact, the majority of our beliefs were absorbed at a young age (between 4-7 years) from the significant people in our life; think parents, grandparents, caregivers and teachers - even the TV! For example, maybe you grew up hearing We can’t afford that”, or “Money doesn’t grow on trees!” Perhaps it was “Money is the root of all evil”. But are any of these actually true (apart from money growing on trees of course!)? Unlikely.
Please don’t mistake me, I am not saying our parents (or other significant caregivers) are, or were, bad people. They did the best they could with the knowledge they had at the time. And it’s likely that their beliefs came from their parents – from a different time - and so on.
The above is merely an example of a script you heard repeatedly as a child that may have manifested in you as a 'poverty mentality'.
As we grow, and without realising, attitudes and beliefs like these can hold us back significantly.
For example, a poverty mentality can prevent us from earning the salary we deserve, having higher financial goals, attaining the skills needed to get better jobs or even from striving for a better profession.
Think about this… what do you earn in your current role? Who sets that salary? Is it the employer? Or did you ask for the salary you want and deserve?
Chances are that you are worth twice as much! But perhaps you don’t think you deserve any more than what you were offered. Maybe you think that only people with multiple degrees and 30 years+ experience, or those working at the ‘top levels’ of management, are the ones who deserve to earn the kind of money you want.
Take a moment to imagine what your life would look like if you had the home of your dreams. How would you feel being able to easily provide the best possible education for your family, a reliable vehicle, family holidays, a life free of financial stress?
Or maybe it has nothing to do with financial goals but more on the personal front. It might be a belief such as “I don’t have enough time in the day to exercise/eat healthy/spend more time with the kids”.
Have you considered that your own beliefs or mindset could be the only obstacle to you having this financial freedom or from finding more time?
Ok, I hear what you’re saying. I acknowledge that there are people who genuinely don’t have the money to buy even the basics. I’m not talking about these people.
What's happening is a program is running in the back of our mind, automatically telling us that we can’t afford something, even when we technically can.
And I get that time can be tight in our ‘busy’ world. But for some, we're running the program that tells us there is no time to spare in the day. When you consider that a 2021 survey shows that the average Aussie spends 5.5 hours on their phone every day, this belief is likely untrue for many of us.
These programs are controlling what, when and how we think. They were built a long time ago and often have no relevance to our current life.
Of course, there are those beliefs that serve us well, like “I believe that if I touch the stove top when it is on, I will burn and hurt myself.” This is a belief that DOES serve us well and we would be wise to listen to it!
So where am I going with this? Simple. If you already have the house of your dreams, if you have enough time to spend doing ALL the things you want in the day, if you are earning all the money you want or if you have your dream job, then you’re doing great! You’re heading in the right direction. Well done.
But if you want more in life, if you want more FROM your life, then it’s time to change tack. It’s time to identify what is holding you back and make a change.
As Ghandi famously said,
“Our beliefs become our thoughts, our thoughts become our words, our words
become our actions, our actions become our habits, our habits become our values and
our values become our destiny.”
Throw out the excuses. Make this the year to re-evaluate your beliefs and change them to create the life you desire.
Because, when we master our mind and change our beliefs, we change our life!
- Rebekah King, Mindset Coach at Moonbeam Monday Training + Coaching.
If you would like to discover what beliefs may be holding you back from living the life you desire, book a FREE 45-minute Discovery Call with Rebekah today.
Comments