Self-Limiting Beliefs
One example of a No Longer Acceptable (NLA) is a self-limiting belief. This is beyond just pessimistic thinking. When you follow self-limiting beliefs you actually inhibit your own potential. Self-limiting beliefs restrict a person’s inhibitions as well as their confidence. They start to think that opportunity escapes them, perhaps even that they are doomed to a life of failure because of the circumstances that have been dealt to them. Do you sense the dogmatic attitude here? They are unwilling to try, having already blamed their failure on someone else. A lack of ambition is not the only problem in this scenario. The same people who take on self-limiting beliefs also keep jobs they do not enjoy and stay in dysfunctional relationships. It’s a continuing cycle of misery. Therefore, if you are serious about changing your life then getting rid of these attitudes, these damaging NLAs, is the very first step.
It would behoove you to stop thinking of any lack of accomplishments as failure. You still have time to make a difference and to pursue your dreams. Be thankful that now you realize you have a golden opportunity and the right perspective to make it happen. Now you move on to the next step of NLAs: excuses. Stop making excuses. Your first reaction to a great idea may be an excuse, an excuse of why it wouldn’t work and why you should not try or just give up. Instead of giving up your idea because of a few good excuses, use those excuses as critical dummy missiles so that you can rework and reinforce your idea.
How Strong Is Your Belief?
What you believe about the world at large and how you fit into the general scheme of things will determine who you are and how you relate to the world you live in.
What we believe about ourselves is encapsulated in the voice we hear in our head. And what that voice tells us is so powerful it will manifest itself in every action we take, every word we say, and every thought we think.
We are who we believe ourselves to be.
Although the saying has been done to death, the only way to change the record that spins around and around in your head, filling you with negativity, self-doubt and shame is to learn to believe in yourself.
Sure, easier said than done, you say. And yes, it is easy to say “believe in yourself”. It’s become the cliché for the 21st century.
But who said life was easy anyway?
Anything worth doing requires determination, self-discipline and struggle. Taking the easy route will not land you on easy street!
What is required is a new record to play over and over in your head. Something a little more upbeat, with inspiring lyrics, a great melody and above all, soul.
The great secret to manifesting anything in your life is to re-program the file in your head that says you can’t have it.
Nobody else but you has access to the turntable of your mind. And only you have the power to change the recording.
People often ask me why I’m so happy all the time. I tell them the answer is simple: “Because I believe I’m happy and that makes it so!”
It sounds too simplistic to be true, doesn’t it? But it’s not.
Slice away the “psychobabble”, the clichés, the heartfelt fables and cheesy quotations and what remains is the simple, elegant truth: You are who you believe yourself to be.
Action Steps
Use these guidelines to change that old record on the player that goes around in your head, and replace it with a melody you can play for the rest of your life.
- Give yourself unconditional love, you deserve it.
- Challenge yourself to be better than even you believed possible.
- Focus on your strengths and work to eliminate or alter your weaknesses.
- Believe you can become whoever you want to be.
- Acknowledge that nobody has the power to make you feel inferior.
- Determine to become a better human being every single day.
- Acknowledge your achievements and give yourself a silent pat on the back.
- Smile and remember that everybody has bad days.
- Embrace the person you are and the contribution you can make to the world.
10. Have faith in yourself and believe you can make a difference.
To believe is to give meaning to your life. To believe in yourself harnesses all your strengths, unlocks your potential and creates a world of endless possibilities.
For help with this concept, choose from the many high-value and high-content tele-seminars for only $27 USD that can be found by going to: AccountabilityCoach.com/coaching-store/audio-store/
2 Great quotes by Apolo Ohno, Short-track speed skater
How much of the winter Olympics have you been watching? Well, my husband and I have been trying to enjoy as much as we could. There certainly was a lot being recorded so we could choose from a variety of winter sports. I certainly learned more about winter sports than I ever knew. Apolo Ohno was certainly a hit with winning so many medals. During various interviews, he said a few things that I thought you might want to ponder and consider how you can apply what he said into your life for even greater success.
“Before you go to sleep at night ask yourself one question: Did you do every single thing you could today to make sure that you did your best? It’s hard to answer ‘yes’ every single day.” Apolo Ohno; Short-track speed skater
“I don’t like to look at it as competition. It’s about me conquering myself… me being able to face my own fears, distractions, and weaknesses and say that I overcame them.” Apolo Ohno; Short-track speed skater
Breaking the Backbone of Limiting Beliefs
According to the laws of physics and aerodynamics, a bumble bee can’t fly. So…try telling a bumble bee that!
Isn’t it wonderful that bumble bees don’t possess human traits? Because if they did, in all likelihood, we would live in a world devoid of flowers and honeycombe and the simple delights of bumble bees productively going about their business in our garden.
Why? Because we human beings have a knack for getting caught up in limiting self beliefs, so it follows that the bulk of us would simply accept the word of the scientific community and not fly because we’ve been told we can’t!
And like the imaginary void that would be created without the ingenuity of bumble bees, we create huge voids in our life by accepting self limiting beliefs.
Our beliefs about ourselves, those around us and the world at large affect who we are and how we behave. Beliefs are merely thoughts that with a little encouragement and repetition from our over-active minds transform into facts. Or so we are led to believe.
Once we have formed a self-limiting belief, we continue to pursue evidence to prove that our belief is real. These beliefs are backed up by our self-talk, providing further evidence to back up our negative thoughts.
How many times have you caught yourself saying:
- I knew I’d be no good at this
- This always happens to me – I’m hopeless
- I’m always the unlucky one
- I’ll never be any good at anything
- I can’t ask for referrals.
- I’m not built for following a calendar.
- I can’t seem to stop letting things distract me.
Limiting beliefs are self-perpetuating; the more we believe something to be so, the more our actions reflect that belief, and the more the resultant failure to achieve what we originally set out to do reinforces the initial limiting belief.
The first step in breaking the cycle of self-limiting beliefs is recognizing that the belief exists.
Most importantly, you need to visualize yourself without the self-limiting belief that has held you back in the “no-fly zone” for most of your life.
Daily affirmations will help hasten the process. Write down on a piece of paper an affirmation that describes the new belief you are focused on, and pin it up someplace where you’ll see it every morning. The mirror where you dress each day is perfect.
Breaking a self-limiting belief is like seeing the world for the first time without the lens cap on. A brave new world of opportunity that you never knew existed is out there, waiting just for you.
For help with this concept, choose from the many high-value and high-content tele-seminars for only $27 USD that can be found by going to: AccountabilityCoach.com/coaching-store/audio-store/
Is belief voluntary or involuntary?
Some great minds have theorized that the formation of belief is mostly an involuntary process. True, anyone can investigate information in order to form beliefs. However, that person may well reach automatic conclusions based on their background. This theory is supported by the fact that many people only accept information that supports their already existing belief system. They may even accept narrow and specific “truths”, rather than fathom more broadly challenging studies that result from analyzing a variety of cultures and perspectives.
Imagination can play an important part in shaping a person’s belief system, whether for creating further core and dispositional beliefs, modifying information or perpetuating the belief further. Emotion can play an important part in belief. This is observed in cases of individuals, who might deny contradictions when they are unable to refute said arguments out of an adherence to a belief they have become emotionally vested in. Sometimes, when there is a lack of evidence suggesting any solid fact, belief can become fused with speculation or even faith. This happens when assumptive data cannot be reconciled to the external world.
Do you ever think any slightly negative thoughts about something and then they come true? How can you change your beliefs to be positive and actually believe what you really want to have happen in your life – so then you can manifest that reality?
Are Limiting Beliefs Impacting Your Success?
Of what significance is this to you? Understanding the concept of “limiting beliefs” is important, not only for leadership but also for self-improvement. In order to motivate others you must understand what inspires them, what challenges them and what basic truths form their belief systems. In order to break away from self-limiting beliefs, you must first learn about the psychology of self-inhibiting behavior and what thinking patterns to watch out for. You do have the ability to change your beliefs and your entire life—to become what you envision as a successful human being. You are not predestined. Limiting beliefs have not been proven as involuntary. You are not incapable of change. So, decide today that you are going to be even more open to change so your limiting beliefs won’t impact your success any longer.
What Does Commitment Mean to You?
Have you ever made a commitment to yourself or someone and for whatever reason, didn’t follow through? There are numerous definitions for the word “commitment.” The most basic definition is that of an “act of voluntarily taking on and fulfilling obligations.” This is actually further specified as a “personal” commitment, as opposed to a professional or organizational commitment. The voluntary nature of personal commitment is what makes it so personal. However, this does not mean that a commitment has to relate only to personal interests, such as human relationships or core beliefs. Any objective can be approached with a personal commitment, a voluntary taking on of all obligations. A commitment can be given to any number of projects and causes, including an organization, a team, a faith group, or to another person.
Many successful people in business and life have commented that commitment is a very important factor in individual success. This is usually because the individual is the one that must spearhead his or her own cause for a period of time, at least until others can join in the cause. In order for any venture to be successful, action must first be taken, and commitment is what incites people to action. Commitment involves not only pledging one’s self to a purpose, but also practicing this system of belief on a regular basis. Defining commitment as persistence alone would be inaccurate; it is persistence with a purpose or goal, and built upon a foundation of logic that is closely linked with a person (or group’s) core beliefs.
Some of the most successful businesspersons in modern times, as well and throughout history, are people that have been described as “committed” to their career or cause. They are usually not people of exceptional genius, nor have they built an empire based on dumb luck. They are individuals that have held firmly to a set of commitments and seen these commitments through.
How passionate and committed are you to making a project work, making your career successful, raising your children, staying fit and healthy, etc.?
This is What it Takes!
I was reading an email by Richard Weylman today and thought you would get value from his message also. He wrote:
“Recently I spotted a young lady going door to door in my small town passing out her resume to every business. She marched in, dressed for success and asked to see the manager. Then, with dignity and maturity beyond her years (she is a junior in our local high school) she presented her resume and her value statement to every manager. When I approached her about why she was going door to door, her answer was simple. “I need a job and I have to get in front of those who hire!” Wow!
Two days later a local farmer pulled into our office parking lot selling fruits and vegetables. I asked him why he wasn’t just parked on a corner selling his products. His answer was simple “that’s what everybody else does. Me, I make it happen. I’m not waiting until it happens.” Another Wow!
In both cases, these individuals chose to break out, get out and reach their prospects face to face. The lesson here is simple; to grow your business you have to reach, see and meet more people. In this market, people need to know you and trust you. This can only happen if you delegate running the business to a limited number of hours each week and spend at least two days a week out of the office meeting, greeting and becoming known and trusted.
The school girl was going door to door on Saturday because she is in school until 4:00pm M-F. The farmer has to grow it to sell it. Yet in both cases they saw what it takes to be successful in this market. The same applies to each of us in this business. Or to put it another way, as Milton Berle said, “If opportunity isn’t knocking, build a door.””
WOW is right! This is what it takes to be successful. What are you doing today, tomorrow, next week, next month that puts you in the highest probability position to reach your next level of success?
How would you benefit by enhancing your discipline?
I recently listened to an interview with this Australian Fitness educator and she described discipline this way…
She said there are no secrets, but the key is discipline. If you want something badly enough you will do whatever it takes to achieve it.
Notice that she didn’t say willing to do whatever it takes – she said will do whatever it takes. Just because someone says they are willing to do something, doesn’t mean they will do it.
Sometimes you just have to suck it up and exercise the discipline to do what you know needs to be done when it needs to be done so we can achieve our goals.
“Discipline is doing what you know you should do at the time you should do it, even if you don’t feel like it.” – Rowena Szeszeran-McEvoy, Fitness Educator
How would you benefit by enhancing your discipline?
Persistence is a good character trait
Persistence is the ability to continue to get up no matter how many times you’ve been knocked down. It requires will power, flexibility, strength of character, determination and a desire to succeed at all costs.
If there was one common denominator that could be applied to successful people, it would be persistence.
The brilliant minds, the great achievers, the magnetic leaders of our generation and throughout history did not achieve their success at the start of their journey – they achieved it when their vision became reality.
Persistence is about having a vision and working towards that goal.
However, if you study the path most visionaries have taken to achieve their goals, you’ll discover that persistence lies in holding on to the vision, not on the path they chose to achieve their vision.
Persistence without purpose is useless. Dogged determination to adhere to a plan that is not getting you to where you want to go IS NOT persistence. Being persistent means having the strength and flexibility to stop and take stock when you become aware your efforts are not getting results.
The value of persistence lies in maintaining your goal while re-positioning yourself to get there without continually hitting your head against a brick wall.
So, what can you do to maintain persistence today and every day?
