Before we delve into the topic of changing limiting beliefs, we first need to ask ourselves what a belief is, because yes… We all have different kinds, and therefore; sometimes they can become our greatest obstacle to overcome, if we want to achieve our personal goals.

But what exactly are they? A conception that we have of something that alters our perception of the object we believe in, without having been able to corroborate what we actually claim to be true. Therefore, learning to modify limiting beliefs is therapeutic work.

Types of beliefs

Although not all of them are necessarily false, in this article we will focus on teaching you to recognize those that are false so that you can change limiting beliefs for other more empowering ideas that drive you to fulfill your dreams or dare to achieve the unthinkable. There are two types:

Internal

When a person seeks to change their own limiting beliefs, they are most often referring to those that are born in their mind, a product of the experience they have gained from their interaction with the world, that is, their own interpretation, many of which are created during childhood.

External

These are all those that refer to the education received by caregivers when children, religion, politics, as well as any other that we assimilate socially in order to fit into a group. Like the previous ones, we can also modify external limiting beliefs.

What are limiting beliefs?

Among other things, we talk about changing limiting beliefs because these shape the perceptions we have of ourselves, and despite not having a real basis, they restrict our actions both in everyday life and in any project we want to undertake.

For example, it is difficult for many people to change limiting beliefs about themselves, because they think they are not capable of achieving certain goals, or because their self-esteem is so poor that they are not even able to value their intellectual abilities or physical attractiveness.

It is important for people to work on their limiting and empowering beliefs in order to achieve an optimal level of personal development. A wrong idea about ourselves can be castrating, and often becomes the reason for patients seeking psychological therapy.

Examples of limiting beliefs

Below, I want to present you with some examples of limiting beliefs. I am sure that some of these ideas are planted in your minds, and without knowing it; surely these erroneous ideas about your own potential can keep you away from what you dream of:

1. Feeling inadequate to achieve anything positive, both at work and personally.
2. Limiting beliefs about money related to one’s own inability to generate good profits.
3. Another idea that comes to mind about changing limiting beliefs is that mistaken notion of “I am too young or too old to…”.
4. Thinking that you never have enough money to do something.
5. Feeling unintelligent about anything.
6. Doubting one’s own experience when carrying out a project.
7. Thinking that you will never be successful in life.
8. Believing that we will never be able to excel at what we are passionate about.
9. It also often happens that people feel that they do not have enough talent to achieve their goals.
10. Thinking that they will never be able to be leaders in what they love.

Types of limiting beliefs

To change limiting beliefs, it is necessary to know how to identify them, because as I mentioned at the beginning, there are different types. I want to give you a classification of three of the most common ones, because although they may be diverse, these are usually the ones that are most repeated due to low self-esteem:

On own capabilities

Often, many individuals find it difficult to change the limiting beliefs they have about their own potential, since these people probably had some experience in which they made a mistake or were pointed out for it, so now they doubt their abilities.

On the possibilities of achieving something

It is also common to seek to change limiting beliefs that one has about the impossibility of achieving a goal. Often, these people trust that other people can do things well, they can even encourage them, but they are unable to think positively about themselves.

On self-deservingness

Another common problem that is often found in this regard is the mistaken notion that good things that happen are not deserved, since one’s own effort and work are underestimated. All these dilemmas come from a lack of self-esteem and a lack of emotional intelligence tools.

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Why are limiting beliefs so important?

Learning to recognize and change limiting beliefs is relevant for the personal growth of every human being, since they have the power to lead to action. Being aware of this will lead us to obtain the results we want to achieve. I will tell you why.

When I told you about where limiting beliefs come from , I said that they usually come from human experiences or from what we learn from our social groups. When we seek to empower ourselves, these must be based on the potential of our individual abilities.

Where do limiting beliefs originate?

Previously, I explained where limiting beliefs come from . However, I want to remind you that especially the wrong ideas we have about ourselves usually come from painful or traumatic experiences, which will influence our behavior in the future.

For example, to change the limiting beliefs of a person who has been told all his life that he is useless, that he never does things right, that person will most likely need to see a specialist, who will help him work on his self-worth and emotional control.

Is it possible to change limiting beliefs?

Of course! Changing limiting beliefs is possible. However, I must be honest: it may take time, but in the end it will be worth it. The important thing is that you learn to recognize those ideas that make you think that you are not capable of achieving your personal goals.

With the help of professionals from the European Institute of Efficient Intelligences , and the different techniques and exercises to change limiting beliefs that they will teach you so that you can work on your self-esteem, and discover the reasons why you think what you think about yourself.

The 6 actions to change limiting beliefs

I would like to leave you with some very useful recommendations that you can apply from now on, for all of you who wish to begin to question your thoughts, in order to change limiting beliefs and thus begin to live in a more complete and harmonious way.

Make a list of your limiting beliefs

The first step to changing limiting beliefs is to sit down and analyze what we have. This can be a moment of deep introspection, which can take some time, because these notions usually go completely unnoticed.

We all have preconceived ideas about ourselves, and many of them can be negative. I encourage you to take a piece of paper and a pencil and write down what your goals or dreams have been, and the reasons why you think it has not been possible for you to make them a reality yet.

Analyze each one, and realize that they are just your vision.

After you have written them down, in order to change the limiting beliefs you have just recognized, you need to take a reasonable amount of time to question them. Is that really the reason why you think it is impossible for you to achieve that dream?

Do the exercise of thinking of alternative paths to make them viable, even; I would advise you to look around you or in any other reference, for the story of someone who has already achieved what you so long for. Investigate what their context was like, what steps they took. That can be a good way to start.

Relate your limiting beliefs with negative aspects

To continue with the exercises to change limiting beliefs, on the same sheet where you have written down your limiting beliefs, you can write down all the aspects that you consider negative about yourself, and that have led you to have that wrong idea about your abilities.

For example, it is common for many children to become adults with low self-esteem if they were teased as children for their physical appearance, or if their abilities were not valued positively by adults. Write down everything you think, and you will see that these ideas really have no basis!

Replace every limiting belief with a positive one

On a separate sheet of paper, you will now do exactly the opposite: you will write down a belief that you think you should have from now on that is completely contrary to this negative idea you have about yourself. It will certainly not be easy to change it at first, but you have already started a process!

For example, if you consider yourself a person who does not deserve to earn good money for your work, you could write down a sentence that says: “I have worked hard for this, and I deserve a good salary.” Another example could be: “I am a professional capable of carrying out the project that has been assigned to me.”

Relate new beliefs with positive aspects

It’s time for you to write down your skills or abilities, because obviously you have them, even if you probably don’t believe it now! Think for a second, what do you value about yourself? What things do you know you can do well? What activities show your best performance?

The idea is that these skills that you know you have, relate them to that new belief that you want to install in your mind. Thus, a professional who has worked for years in a specific area, but who believes he does not deserve recognition, can think about his honesty and job responsibility.

Carry out your new beliefs

This is perhaps the hardest part, because we are creatures of habit, and what is deeply rooted in our minds is very hard to crack, but not impossible. I advise you to write down your beliefs as empowering phrases, which you can read at any time. Leave them as reminders!

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The 3 consequences of not changing limiting beliefs

The task of changing limiting beliefs has a lot to do with our mental patterns. In short: it is a matter of habits. They will always exist, they are part of our human condition. The important thing is to make us rethink our negative opinions about ourselves.

You can miss opportunities for growth in all aspects of life

One of the reasons why we must change the limiting beliefs that we may have at this moment is because they prohibit us from achieving what we truly dream of, they lead us to conform to situations in which we do not feel comfortable, but out of fear we do not dare to do more.

They influence your interpersonal relationships

Just as you may have limiting beliefs about money , you may have them about the way you conduct your romantic, friendship or work relationships with others, which can push you to stay in situations of constant conflict, because you do not feel deserving of sincere affection.

They inhibit you from having good self-esteem

As you may have seen in the examples I shared a few paragraphs back, these thoughts often negatively affect our self-esteem in general. In this case, remember that we are only talking about limiting beliefs, because humans will always have judgments about everything.

The really important thing is that you realize that any thought of self-sabotage or self-hatred is just an unconscious idea that may have been born from a bad experience, or that you simply inherited or received from an adult when you were a child. But that can change!

 

Recommendations on how to change limiting beliefs

For our mental health and well-being, we must work on changing the limiting beliefs we have about ourselves, because without knowing it, we assume them as absolute truths when they are just ideas that have no basis whatsoever. No, they are not and have never been real. 

If as children we do not receive enough love or appreciation from our elders, as adults we cannot expect to live as if nothing had happened. It is our emotional responsibility to know ourselves intimately, and in this way not to pass on our emotional conflicts to anyone else.

Allow yourself to get to know yourself today, work on yourself, and heal those wounds that prevent you from developing your full potential, because you have it. Become aware of the way you treat yourself, so you can begin to build a better relationship with yourself, but also with the people around you.