Bookmark Website  | Free Registration  | The Team
The Lounge  | Champions  | The Wire |  Schedule |  Audio  |  Arcade  |  The Top Ten  |  Historical  |  Email  |  Video

Self-Limiting Beliefs: The Inner Enemies of Progress


What are they?

Self-limiting beliefs are those things you believe about yourself that place limitations on your abilities.They may be conscious or unconscious. They may be founded or unfounded eg:

I am fat so no one will marry me, or

I am not lucky; I won't get the job.

That you are fat may well be true. That no one will marry you as a result definitely isn't.Some people prefer fat partners, and it's the person inside that really matters.And luck isn't the criterion for getting a job. You get jobs based on merit.

Limitations are actually a thing of the mind. In reality we have none.You can do anything if you make up your mind to do it. Determination always finds a way around obstacles.Henry Ford once said, "If you think you can?. or if you think you can't?you're right!"It all depends on what you believe about yourself.

How do they work?

Our thoughts and beliefs colour our vision and perception of the world.They determine our actions or inactions.Thoughts affect feelings. Feelings affect behaviour. Behaviour produces results (or the lack of them). It all begins with our thoughts, since we have to accept a thought for it to become a belief.

It's been said that whatever you believe becomes your reality. You do not believe what you see; rather you see what you already believe.For this reason, two people facing the same situation may interpret it differently, act according to their different beliefs and experience different outcomes.

Self-limiting beliefs act like brakes on our progress.They leave us acting forward, but believing backward.They have been described as a malicious thermostat; you can take all the action you want, and in the right direction too. But anytime you make progress, the thermostat pulls you back to conform to your inner negative programming.

Attempting to move forward when you have backward programming is like expecting a photocopy to be different from the original.You've got to work on the original copy first, change the blue print, modify the DNA.

Your thoughts and beliefs are your programming. You cannot move beyond them.To get out of the vicious cycle of acting forward but believing backward you've got to identify these malicious thermostats, and eliminate them, consciously and continuously.Sometimes it's a lifelong battle, but one that you can win each time.

What can I do about them?

Fortunately, you can get rid of self-limiting beliefs. But first you have to identify them.They could be lurking in the recesses of our minds without our awareness.Talking with a friend or consulting with a coach could give you more objective feedback as to their existence.

Once you have identified them, these limiting beliefs must be challenged every time they rear their heads. You must consciously reject any thought or suggestion that you are limited in any way. There is nothing you cannot do. You simply need to find the way and follow it to conclusion.

When self-limiting thoughts are starved of attention, they wither and die.Whatever you give attention to magnifies: whatever you do not attend to shrivels up and dies.Jim Rohn says it aptly: "You cannot take the mild approach to the weeds in your mental garden. You have got to hate weeds enough to kill them. Weeds are not something you handle; weeds are something you devastate."

No one is better than you are.If others do better, it is simply because they have had more practise, more experience, and/or they know something that you don't. And all this can be remedied.God made us equal. It's what we build upon His initial investment that makes the difference.

Read what the experts have said about our beliefs:

? Belief always precedes action. -James Allen
(We won't even attempt something unless we first believe we can accomplish it. No belief, no action, i.e. procrastination.)

? Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs. -Maxwell Maltz

? Once your thoughts reflect what you genuinely want to be, the appropriate emotions and the consequent behaviour will flow automatically. Believe it and you will see it. -Wayne Dyer

In a nut shell, you must control the thoughts that play around in your mind. Admit and nurture only those that enhance your positive programming and move you to your goals.

Possible sources

Limiting beliefs could come from the things people said to us and about us while we grew up. Now is the time to devastate these weeds.They could also come from listening to negative people, watching/listening to negative TV and radio programs, reading negative books and magazines, and repeatedly hearing negative song lyrics. Always be on the look-out for possible sources, not fearfully, but with the view to detect and devastate them.

A proactive approach

A better way to deal with self-limiting thoughts is to prevent them in the first place.Examining the list of sources above will give you an idea of where their opposites (self-empowering beliefs) can be found - in the opposite directions!If you spend time with wholesome people and material, this will build healthy, wholesome thought patterns.A mind that is girded with strong, empowering thoughts is in fit enough condition to resist invasion by these malicious, illegal aliens.

Invest in inspirational books, seminars, CDs etc. Engage in positive self-talk or affirmations.And just in case self-limiting thoughts slip through unnoticed, perform periodic "mind-sanitation exercises" where you do some self-evaluation. Sometimes a seminar attendance or listening to an audio program is what will alert you of this incursion.

I wish you all the best as you build a strong and healthy mind.Go forward and do all the things you thought you could not do, because now you know that you can.Can I hear an "Amen" somebody?!

Copyright © 2005 Oma Edoja

Oma Edoja is a published writer, motivational speaker and infopreneur. She speaks to, and works with people wanting to move to the next level. Is progress for you slow? Are results undesirable? Do you have self-limiting beliefs?Contact Oma via her blog, for a free assessment. Blog: http://omaslounge.blogspot.com (contact info available here).


MORE RESOURCES:

Washington Post

Facing Raiders on national TV will serve as motivation Thursday
San Diego Union Tribune, CA - 43 minutes ago
And while they technically do, they also are searching for other reasons to be up for Thursday night's game against Oakland (and the three that follow it), ...
CHARGERS NOTES: LT calls on teammates to finish strong North County Times
Matchups: Falcons at Chargers SportingNews.com
Five things to watch: Falcons-Chargers San Diego Union Tribune
all 638 news articles


Dawgs digging deep to find last-game motivation
Seattle Post Intelligencer - Dec 1, 2008
Finding motivation figures to be a challenge for a squad coming off a 16-13 double-overtime loss in its rivalry game. Willingham insisted he won't use his ...
UW to get close look at Jeff Tedford Seattle Times
all 17 news articles


Thousands descend on Austin Convention Center for motivation seminar
KVUE, TX - 10 hours ago
By QUITA CULPEPPER Organizers say it's a way to get inspired and find the secret to your success, while hearing from a dream team of successful politicians ...


Telegraph.co.uk

Barry reveals England motivation
SkySports - 17 hours ago
By Chris Burton Last updated: 2nd December 2008 Gareth Barry admits that four years in the international wilderness made him all the more determined to earn ...
BARRY: WILDERNESS IS MOTIVATION Sportinglife.com
all 652 news articles


Boston Globe

OPEC Cuts: A Barrel Of Laughs
Forbes, NY - Dec 1, 2008
"The major motivation for sellers is the discounting of the OPEC decision," said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president of MF Global, in a report, "but motivation ...
Oil prices dive after OPEC holds output unchanged AFP
all 2,626 news articles


5ones

If Ever There Was Motivation Not to Finish College…
5ones, CA - 6 hours ago
Albi Sole, program co-ordinator for Public Avalanche Awareness Programs at the University of Calgary Outdoor Centre, has just put the finishing touches on ...


Overflow crowds come to Downtown Austin to get motivated
CBS 42, TX - 4 hours ago
We’re officially in a recession and in this kind of economy people need motivation and skills more than ever before,” said the Executive VP of “Get ...
Get Motivated keeps price low in tough economy Austin American-Statesman
Get Motivated seminar, not your ordinary pep talk News 8 Austin
Heavy downtown traffic possible Tuesday morning News 8 Austin
all 6 news articles


Examiner.com

Movement Fuels Motivation
Examiner.com - 15 hours ago
by KT Erwin, Tampa Bay Weight Loss Examiner Motivation and movement are the dynamic duo of weight loss and healthy living. Getting back to the Times Turkey ...


Aerosmith’s Dream On is Raghu Dixit’s mantra for motivation
Indian Express, India - 17 hours ago
For me, a classic is something like Aerosmith’s Dream On. It’s been over 15 years since I first heard the track when my friends got me to listen to it. ...


News 8 Austin

Thousands of locals look to 'Get Motivated'
News 8 Austin, TX - 1 hour ago
Finding the motivation to excel in times like these can be tough, but Central Texan Lucia Cordoba, along with more than 20000 people, hoped to find ...

Motivation - Google News


Advertisement



Section Site Map - Submit News - Feedback - Comments - Advertise with Us

Copyright © 2006 Luminati Inc. All rights reserved.