The Limitation of Beliefs

For fun, try searching “debunked common beliefs” on line. You’ll find article after article about beliefs to which we held fast before they were ultimately dismissed as untruths. In the area of nutrition alone, think about the innumerable times we avoided certain foods that were believed to be bad for us, only to find they were actually important contributors to a healthy and prolonged life. Oil anyone?!

We so often accept things we hear, read, or see as truth. It’s typical to do this, especially if the information is coming from a trusted source. And most of the time, believing something causes no harm. Or does it?

Travel with me to childhood, will you? Think about what you witnessed and the messages you internalized.

In my home, I watched my dad faithfully go to work each day, only to return with a briefcase full of paperwork that he poured through for hours at night. My typically jovial dad was different at those times. He was very serious, and often stressed.

Through the eyes of a reverent daughter, my dad’s work ethic took on another life. It instilled beliefs about work and play…and stress…that hung with me for decades.

“Work isn’t fun.”

“You have to work really long hours at the exclusion of everything else to be
successful.”

“Being accountable to others is stressful.”

And then there was the spoken belief, “if you work hard enough, and long enough you can achieve whatever you want.”

Armed with these beliefs, I went out into the world programmed to experience exactly what I believed. And so, I worked VERY hard. And work wasn’t fun. In fact, it was only after I had broken free from these beliefs, that I realized I had NEVER allowed myself to laugh in my own office! The inner guard of my belief system kept me in check, assuring I performed in accordance with my false truths.

Meanwhile, I watched other people become wildly successful WHILE having fun. I envied them. I wanted that freedom, yet I had no way to get there until I uncovered the thoughts that imprisoned me. That’s the incredible power of a limiting belief. It holds you captive until you’ve identified it, examined its origin, and have chosen to let it go.

What beliefs limit YOU?

How will the quality of your life be enhanced by letting them go? Try this experiment and see what happens. Think of a belief you hold as truth. Follow the trail and recall where you first got this belief. Then remember as much as you can about the circumstances at the time, and what you were thinking and feeling.

Now ask yourself these simple questions:
“How true is that belief, really?”
“How has that belief affected me?”
“How will I let it go?”

Fun, right?! Why not keep going? I’ll bet there are lots of limiting beliefs awaiting your discovery. And with each one you dispel, you just might notice a surge of new energy and possibility. Powerful!!