Sometimes I wake up feeling great, like I can do anything. I feel successful; I’m positive, optimistic, thinking big! But, other times I relapse into small, insecure thinking. I feel defeated and lose control of my thought factories production. Beliefs are wide-ranging, and learning where they come from and how they play a role in our life is crucial to begin changing them. They become such a part of who we are as a person. It’s tough to alter what we have been attached to most of our life, but we must start to produce more empowering beliefs and stop defending the half-truths that hold us back. Beliefs that lead to lack of confidence, fear, and worry are what ultimately prevent people from experiencing success and achieving what they want from life. Are you ready to change your beliefs in order to change your life?
Where do beliefs come from – are they really yours?
No one is born with beliefs. Beliefs are acquired from a young age and through our life experience. The things you were told and how you were treated when young, become the way you think about yourself and the world, and become your beliefs, whether empowering or defeating. The great thing is this doesn’t mean that our beliefs are actually true. Just because someone told us we can’t be somebody or do something doesn’t mean we have to believe them. Stop defending discouraging beliefs! I know it’s hard, but ask yourself: What do I believe about myself? What do I believe about the world? What do I believe about my future? After you have uncovered what you believe, it’s time to decide what you want to keep and what you want to throw out. What beliefs do I want to change? What do I want to start believing about myself and my future? You can decide what you want to believe. Throw away those self-defeating beliefs for an empowering and successful self-image.
Change your beliefs and change your life
Whatever we think about, we will move toward this. If I feel good about something, I’ll move toward it, and if I feel bad about something, I’ll move away from it. This is important because what you think about now, will determine where you go in the future. In other words, if you believe you’ll never get that new job, get a book deal, have a great relationship, you won’t. Your beliefs may have you stuck in a cycle of helplessness, where you never see positive results. You might have made so many deprecating deposits into your mind bank account that you have nothing else to take out. Self-talk determines your self-image and self-concept, which in turn accumulates to determine your beliefs. If you change what you think about, you can largely determine what happens to you. How are beliefs playing a role in your life? Remember:
- You think in three dimensions: words or language, which trigger pictures, which in turn cause emotions.
- You build your self-image with your thoughts. Be careful what you think.
- Your subconscious accepts what you tell it. You must control your self-talk
- Your self-image controls how you act. To achieve more, alter your self-image
What is your perception of your capabilities? How do you act when you’re not faking it, when you let yourself flow freely with no conscious control? This is the where you want to be in your daily life, in touch with your real self and no restrictions on your potential.
Beliefs equal effectiveness: How effective are you being?
I believe that everyone has immense potential, though despite this enormous potential, we are limited by our beliefs. We will only be able to do what we believe to be possible. Once our beliefs are fixed, our behavior and attitude follow suit. People self-regulate at their belief level, and will stay put unless they empower themselves to break free. This is why it’s so important to make gradual steps everyday to expand and do something that helps you grow and break away from previous limiting beliefs. Taking action can kill the self-limiting fear that may be holding you back. Be prepared for an increase in tension as you step out of your comfort zone though. This tension comes from our subconscious mind, which wants us to stay the same and not take any risk. This is what makes you feel like you need to go back to “where you belong,” or why it’s too risky to try something new. Pay no attention to this. You can elevate your comfort zone by raising your self-concept of what you expect of yourself though affirmations and visualization, as well as achieving small goals along the way. You can also start changing your behavior by rewarding desired changes with self-affirming statements, such as, “That’s like me,” or “Yes, I’m good at that.”
Setting goals to increase energy and creativity
To feel more empowered it takes a structured process of setting goals, affirming the change we want in our personal or professional life, and seeing progress along the way. In other words you need to be intentional and deliberate in setting goals and affirming them. You must believe you can achieve what you desire. I believe we are naturally driven to achieve and grow as humans. Thus, setting goals is a part of human nature. Goals release creativity and energy from your creative subconscious, and the larger the goal, the greater the drive, energy and creativity. You can start thinking big at anytime, but it can come more naturally as you set and achieve goals and increase your creativity and energy. Use this energy surplus to start setting bigger goals. Thinking big can mean mentally transcending our daily surroundings. We’ll run into people who tell us we can’t make it, or encounter ideas that conflict with our big thoughts, but don’t let this bring you back to your old ways of thinking. Start thinking bigger about yourself, what’s possible, and where you’re headed. Set your goals high and then expect to achieve them. The bigger you think the greater success you will see. I would love to hear from you! What limiting beliefs have you been struggling with? What have you done about them? How do you stay empowered to achieve your big goals? What do you do when little thinking creeps into your mind?
