Your Mind is Your First Barrier to Success
A belief is an idea that you are convinced about based on the way you see the world. There is no right or wrong when it comes to beliefs, only a set of filters that we personally see the world through based on experiences, outside messages, and internal dialogue. Two people may have very similar external environments, but may see the world very differently. We all see the world through different "prescription" filters. As I mentioned, there is no wrong or right, just your belief system based on the way you see something. One person may feel the color red is strong and means courage and bravery. Another person may look at red, think it means bad luck, and that bad things will come when wearing that color. Is anyone really wrong or right? Maybe the person who does not like red wore a red dress the first day of Elementary School and got teased and maybe the other person won a great big college debate in his favorite red sweater. He has a positive belief about the color. There are also cultural beliefs about colors. No one is right or wrong, but your beliefs develop based on external forces and experiences in your life. Learning about my beliefs, where they came from, and their power over my actions has been instrumental in opening my mind, and looking at others belief systems as possibilities for me. Many of us carry around what are called limiting beliefs. They are beliefs that hold you back, and that are not based on any fact, only things that you have decided to tell yourself are true. For example, "I am not smart enough, thin enough, quick enough, he will not like me, she will not like me, I cannot do that job, etc." These are not beliefs that are based on any fact; only on what we have convinced ourselves is true. We were all born good enough, smart enough, etc. At some point we decided to tell ourselves something different. We all have that inner voice from time to time telling us we cannot, or we are not smart enough, or tall enough, or it will be too hard. These voices are nothing but our limiting beliefs that we have developed, and they are holding us back.
As I mentioned earlier, most inner beliefs come from some experience that we may have had as a child. Maybe a teacher thought you were lazy. Maybe your mom and dad at some point said you were not good enough, or as good as your siblings. We repeated these to ourselves and they became our truth. But you can see now, that someone else's opinion is not truth, just their opinion. Those people probably were told they were not good enough also and just passed it on! Think about how you were as a baby or a small child. You had no limiting beliefs. You made funny faces, silly gestures, and just generally had a good time. Then at some point, you might have gotten some negative responses to your behavior. At this point, your references about yourself shifted, because surely these grown people knew what they we're talking about? You can only change that which you are consciously aware of. Most of us walk around with these limiting beliefs, and of course they are so ingrained, and so natural to us, we do not think about how damaging they can be, therefore we are not able to tap into our true power. Once you start being aware, you will notice how you can replace these beliefs with a more positive message, and your life will begin to change. These limiting beliefs that are negative are damaging to our lives. If you believe you are a total failure, or not worthy of having a great bank account, guess where your life most likely will be?
To the contrary, beliefs can be tremendously positive. Beliefs are very good if they promote your potential. In other words, "I am good enough", "I CAN do this", "with a little effort I KNOW I'll get there," etc. Every time you hear yourself express a limiting belief, question it, and immediately replace it with something more positive. It may feel uncomfortable for awhile to express the more positive beliefs about you, but that's ok. Just stick with it and be consistent, and you will eventually replace the negative belief with a positive one. In addition, be aware of your self talk in general. Our self talk is the internal dialogue we have with ourselves all day long. It formulates our beliefs. If we can become aware of our negative self talk and simply change it to more positive inner talk, then this will begin to dramatically change our life. The first step is to bring it from an unconscious behavior, to a conscious one. Stop yourself during the day, and begin to become aware of your internal chatter.
As I mentioned earlier, most inner beliefs come from some experience that we may have had as a child. Maybe a teacher thought you were lazy. Maybe your mom and dad at some point said you were not good enough, or as good as your siblings. We repeated these to ourselves and they became our truth. But you can see now, that someone else's opinion is not truth, just their opinion. Those people probably were told they were not good enough also and just passed it on! Think about how you were as a baby or a small child. You had no limiting beliefs. You made funny faces, silly gestures, and just generally had a good time. Then at some point, you might have gotten some negative responses to your behavior. At this point, your references about yourself shifted, because surely these grown people knew what they we're talking about? You can only change that which you are consciously aware of. Most of us walk around with these limiting beliefs, and of course they are so ingrained, and so natural to us, we do not think about how damaging they can be, therefore we are not able to tap into our true power. Once you start being aware, you will notice how you can replace these beliefs with a more positive message, and your life will begin to change. These limiting beliefs that are negative are damaging to our lives. If you believe you are a total failure, or not worthy of having a great bank account, guess where your life most likely will be?
To the contrary, beliefs can be tremendously positive. Beliefs are very good if they promote your potential. In other words, "I am good enough", "I CAN do this", "with a little effort I KNOW I'll get there," etc. Every time you hear yourself express a limiting belief, question it, and immediately replace it with something more positive. It may feel uncomfortable for awhile to express the more positive beliefs about you, but that's ok. Just stick with it and be consistent, and you will eventually replace the negative belief with a positive one. In addition, be aware of your self talk in general. Our self talk is the internal dialogue we have with ourselves all day long. It formulates our beliefs. If we can become aware of our negative self talk and simply change it to more positive inner talk, then this will begin to dramatically change our life. The first step is to bring it from an unconscious behavior, to a conscious one. Stop yourself during the day, and begin to become aware of your internal chatter.
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