Self limiting beliefs

NLP techniques

Do you believe in yourself?

Do you truly believe in yourself or do you harbour self limiting beliefs? 

Do you believe that the universe and everything that is in it is yours for the taking or does that little voice in your head say things like:  I’m too young to do that;  I’m really too old for that now;  That’s not for people like me;  I could never do that;  I wouldn’t like that;  I couldn’t possibly … and so on.

Being challenged in life is inevitable;  being defeated is optional

Roger Crawford

Self limiting beliefs - Infinity and beyond

If your self talk is anything like that, I have news for you: your beliefs are self limiting.

There is a well-known cliché which runs like this:  Aim for the stars and you might hit a chimney pot.  Whilst it is meant to encourage, it has a built-in limiting belief. 

I say this.  Aim for the most distant galaxy and keep going.  When you reach it, look at what is beyond and keep travelling.

Self limiting beliefs – no limit to human ingenuity

There is no limit to human ingenuity.  None of us knows what we can do until we really try – try, that is, and never give up.

Never underestimate the power of your own mind.  We don’t know precisely how it works or what is its capacity.  

What is plain is that its potential is far greater than we can possibly realise.

Nothing that humans have achieved was created without first thinking about it.  

Imagine what you want to create and think about it.  When you get an idea act upon it.

Your beliefs are paramount.  If you believe you can do something, it is a very good start.  

After that you need to work on it.  Self-belief alone is not enough. 

Self-limiting beliefs and education

If you believe you are handy with a sharp knife and a skilled surgeon, but you have no qualifications or expertise, then that’s not a good thing! 

You are most definitely not going to be operating on me.

On the other hand, if you believe you are capable of becoming a skilled surgeon, are prepared to study, gain the qualifications and undergo the training, that is quite a different matter.

But it won’t happen all by itself.  So many of those who have self limiting beliefs have never really tried, or fallen at the first hurdle and decided that whatever it is they want to do is not for them.

Sanjay doesn’t have self limiting beliefs

Sanjay was not a person with a self-limiting belief.  He was from a hardworking Asian family who lived in England.

The family did its best to see that he was educated properly and he graduated university with a Bachelor of Science degree. 

Afterwards, he worked with the family in a back street warehouse in my home town making and selling clothes.  They opened a single shop in our town.

Gradually, over the next two or three years a second and then a third shop opened in the County. 

And, as the business grew, shops opened in surrounding counties until eventually it became a well-known national clothing chain before spreading to mainland Europe.

The business, which started as a small partnership before growing into a private limited company, eventually became a publicly listed company on the Stock Exchange.

Sanjay became an extremely successful, powerful and wealthy businessman and headed a global corporation.

He is no different from you or me.  Just flesh and blood.  He came from a modest background.  His family knew what hard work and industry were.

But Sanjay does not permit himself to have self-limiting beliefs.  He didn’t want to run a clothing shop; he wanted to run a clothing empire. 

He kept his eye on the ball and achieved what he set out to do.

Before you start to say, “Ah, but …” which is the very beginning of your expression of a self-limiting statement, think instead what you want to do and figure out the steps you need to take in order to get there.

When you have done that you can read the pages on this site about strategies and goals and put yourself properly on course. 

Physical size and shape and self limiting beliefs

Don’t let age, physical size or shape deter you.  Think of Danny DeVito.  If he had stopped to dwell on his size, would he ever have become an actor? 

Now he is one of the most celebrated actors and producers in the world.

Actor Daniel Radcliffe is a younger but equally powerful example.  Daniel says he  used to feel self-conscious about his size and then one day he thought to himself, “Fuck it, I’m Harry Potter.”

As well as starring in all the Harry Potter movies, Daniel Radcliffe has now made appearances in other films and stage productions, including London’s West End and New York’s Broadway, and has a glittering career ahead of him.

None of these people permitted limiting beliefs to stand in their way, and neither should you.

Self limiting beliefs – Exercise

Now, if you are not already in a quiet place, take yourself to one, make sure that you will not be disturbed and run over this exercise.

First of all, read the instructions all the way through and make sure you understand them.  Then close your eyes, take a deep breath through your mouth and let it out slowly through your nose.

Then do it again … in through your nose, and out through you mouth, allowing your body to relax totally.

Imagine any tension turning into a syrupy liquid and running right the way down through your body and out through your toes.

Use any sounds that you can hear for your own benefit.  Allow them to drift and your mind to wander and, inside your mind, go deeper and deeper still.

As you go deeper still allow your attention to fall upon something you wish to accomplish but still wait to achieve.  Never mind what has happened in the past.  Let that just fall away.

Imagine a large picture of your future success.  See yourself achieving your aim.  Hear what you would hear and feel what you would feel.

Double the picture and make it brighter and then double it again.  Make it life size, and when it is life size and as real as you can possibly make it, mentally step into the picture so now you are seeing everything through your own eyes.

Soak up the experience and know not only that you can do this, but you have achieved it.  Bask in the feeling of success.

As the feelings peak, anchor them.  When you are ready you can begin open your eyes fully.  Do something else for a moment or two and then fire the anchor to revisit the feelings.

You might like to repeat this exercise over a few days in order to strengthen the feelings within you and to reinforce the anchor.


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