Our beliefs influence our experiences. The stronger your beliefs, the more self-fulfilling they seem. Because of this, we tend to seek out confirmation to support our beliefs. What many people don’t realize is that most of their existing beliefs are not actually true — they only seem true because we have decided they are.
There are a lot of collective limiting beliefs many people agree on:
- Time is money.
- Work is an annoying necessity.
- You turn into a dull person after marriage.
- Once you hit adulthood, fun is replaced by responsibilities.
None of us really wants to believe these things. Maybe we think this is just the way things are, simply because everyone agrees. Or maybe a belief has become part of our life, and it just feels too hard to change.
Let’s look at the first problem. It’s critical to realize that oftentimes, what we believe is not the way things are. In most cases, we hold a common assumption to be true just because there are so many people who share the same beliefs, and we go along with the crowd. How do we fix this? We have to let go of common assumptions, stop agreeing, reclaim our consciousness, and make our own conclusions.
Deeply rooted, systemic limiting beliefs are hard to shake off. We are so used to them that we sometimes identify with them without even realizing it. These beliefs can feel like unmovable roadblocks on our path. Some examples:
- A sense of not being fulfilled.
- A feeling of not being worthy.
- A feeling of not deserving success.
These ideas can seem too hard to change. Many people hold a mindset that even if they try to make an effort, they’ll fail every time they try. Fortunately, there are a few things we can do to make the change to new, non-limiting beliefs.
1. Stop identifying with limiting beliefs.
It’s easy to be consumed by common beliefs and let them define who we are. But is that really necessary? The first step to shedding these beliefs is to define for yourself what it is you want to believe in.
2. Kill what you concluded.
The things you believe are guaranteed are probably a lot more flexible than you think. What you think of as the hard truth is probably negotiable. Challenge all the beliefs you have about what you think is true — and eliminate false conclusions.
3. Test what you assumed.
Breaking limiting beliefs requires action. Something needs to be done to put your assumptions to the test. Question what you assume to be the truth — and do so with an open mind, to prevent coming back to ideas that only reinforce existing conclusions.
Need some help releasing limiting beliefs? INLP Center has created a five step process that is brilliantly effective!