How to Identify and Change ‘Limiting Beliefs’

A limiting belief is a belief that holds you back from realizing your full potential. They can be hard to spot, but for those who suffer from them, they can be very debilitating and troublesome. So how do you identify them, and how do you change them? The first thing that we will talk about is how to spot them. How to Identify a ‘Limiting Belief’ A limiting belief is almost always a negative thing. It usually manifests itself as a sub-conscious thought that keeps you from trying something. Most of the time, such a belief causes you to give up before you try, simply because you believe that you are no good at. An example could be math… if you have a limiting belief that you are ‘bad at math’, then you may not even attempt to comprehend an in-depth math problem. Limiting beliefs usually have roots in our past experiences. Perhaps someone once told you that you were bad at it, and hearing that really affected you? Or maybe you attempted it once long ago, and failed… so now you believe that you are inherently ‘bad’ at whatever it is you tried. Maybe you took a class on it in school, and failed the class… so you believe within your own mind that there is absolutely NO way that you could ever be good at that particular subject. Maybe you have always received 1-2 referrals every time you asked so you believe that is all you will ever get when you ask. Identifying such a belief is not always easy, but it is essential to be honest with yourself. Anything that you believe is not worth trying is usually tied to a limiting belief, and you usually believe the way you do because of something that happened in the past. How to Get Past It Getting past such a belief can be mentally challenging, because odds are good that you have spent a great deal of time avoiding it or putting yourself down about it or haven't ever thought outside the box and beyond it. Getting past such a mental roadblock can definitely be accomplished, but you have got to use logic… and you are often going to have to bypass your emotions or fee