What if you are on the planet at this particular time for a reason? What are you here to create? Who are you here to serve? What do you want to call in for yourself?
A successful, fulfilling career? To be financially stable and comfortable? To live a purpose-driven life? To contribute? To know yourself?
When you really dig deep, you likely know what you want. So what’s keeping you from achieving them? It may be your limiting beliefs.
Limiting beliefs keep us from even trying for the big, scary goals that feel so far out of reach because they tell us what we are and aren’t worthy of having and being.
To move beyond your limiting beliefs, you have to first understand what they are.
The tricky thing about them is we often times don’t know what they are. Often times, these are things that were installed during our childhood based on how our parents behaved, what types of media you ingested and what was happening globally.
While we each have our own collection of experiences which permeated who we are and what we believe we are and aren’t capable of, there are often 3 key areas where limiting beliefs can show up.
Limiting beliefs in love
Regardless of your relationship status, your love life can be a place where limiting beliefs reside. While this could stem from your parents and their relationship, it could also arise from past partners.
Take a moment to think back to your significant relationships. How did you typically show up in them? Did you have a jealous streak that was unwarranted? Were you someone who went through your partner’s cell phone or checked credit card statements? Have you ever felt like you didn’t deserve to be in a relationship with a certain partner? Maybe you’ve felt insecure that someone may not stay with you? Maybe you’ve thought that you’d never find love or you should settle for someone because you may never find another?
These could be signs that there are limiting beliefs around romance and your ability to find and keep love.
Limiting beliefs around your body
A lot of people, especially women, have unhealthy body image, often stemming from what we see in the media and how our loved ones spoke about their own bodies while we were developing.
What is your relationship with your body like? Do you give it compassion? Are you judgmental about it? Do you give yourself grace if you’ve gained (or lost) a few pounds? Do you view dieting or exercise as punishment for being or eating “bad?” Do you feel shame if you “cheat” on your diet? Do you often consider how different your life may be if you looked differently?
These could be signs that you have limiting beliefs around your body.
Limiting beliefs with money
You’ve lived through global recessions and are likely well-versed on the unequal distribution of wealth on the planet. You also know that depending on your identity alone, you may have hurdles to achieving certain levels of access to wealth and resources. With all of these pressures, it is no wonder many of us live with scarcity mindset. That’s why it’s important to get clear on what is a real limitation and what is perceived or limiting our beliefs about what we’re capable of achieving.
So how is your relationship with money? Do you never seem to feel abundant? Are you constantly thinking that there’s not enough money to go around? Do you feel like everyone else has more money than you? Do you feel like you don’t deserve the abundance that you desire? Do you have some disposable income but feel fear when spending it because you’re scared you might not have enough later? Are you constantly thinking about what you don’t have? Do you frequently consider how much better life would be if you had more money?
These may be signs you have limiting beliefs around money and your deserving power.
Moving beyond your limiting beliefs
Once you’ve identified some areas you may have some limiting beliefs, now you can start to heal them and step fully into what you’re capable of. So what are some actionable ways you can do just that?
- Notice your internal dialogue to learn how limiting beliefs sneak into your psyche
- Start being intentional about imagining the things you DO want
- Move through an exercise to clear your most powerful limiting beliefs