The spiral of limiting beliefs

This week I had the privilege of visiting the Forest Tower near Copenhagen and going up and down the tower’s spiral I could not help but thinking about how limiting and negative beliefs can become a devastating downward spiral!

The way in which we look at the world and experience all the information that reach our minds are shaped through our beliefs. Beliefs are those ideas and concepts we accept as the truth. You might have come to these conclusions or personal truths ourselves, or they might have been passed on to us by religion, culture, society, our parents, schools, the media, politics, etc. A large number of our beliefs get programmed into our subconscious mind before the age of seven. As these beliefs are imprinted in our sub-conscious mind at such a young age it means that we never argue about them or question them and before we know it, we live by those beliefs.

Many beliefs are wonderful and ensure order and harmony in society. Think about beliefs like treating others with respect and kindness – we do not have to think about these beliefs and merely act on them, all for the benefit of ourselves and others.

However, there are also many limiting and negative beliefs. Beliefs like I am not good enough, I have to work very hard for success, The only way to get promoted is to give up having a life, I don’t have enough experience, I’ll never be a great leader. These limiting and negative beliefs stop you from chasing after your dreams, forming healthy relationships with people, and creating change in all area of your life.

We all have limiting and negative beliefs and the best way to become aware of those is by becoming aware of your behaviour. Your behaviour is a direct consequence of your underlying beliefs and the more you study your behaviours, the easier it becomes to identify those beliefs that limit your progress and happiness.

For example: you catch yourself that you do not go full out for an opportunity. When you think about it you realise that you did not go full out because you thought that you might not have been successful. Analysing this a bit further, you might realise that you thought that you were not good enough.

Once you have identified the limiting belief, you can write it down and assess the accuracy. Perhaps it is now a great time to reflect on all your successes. In addition, you can also use positive affirmations. In the above example a positive affirmation like: I have the capabilities necessary to succeed at everything I do would be quite useful. To cement this affirmation in your mind, revisit the affirmation daily. Write it down, put it on your phone, stick it up on the wall above your work station – do what it takes. And supplement it with positive visualisation – see yourself succeeding and feel the feelings that go with that success. After a couple of weeks you will find that you are more optimistic and that it becomes easier to see yourself succeed. Meditation and mindfulness could also be wonderful techniques to cement this new empowering affirmation and belief.

My challenge to you is to become aware of your own beliefs and to identify those beliefs that are limiting you in having the life you really want, whether it is on a personal level or at work. It is possible to break the cycle; to set yourself free from the limitations housed in your own mind. Take charge of your beliefs and achieve more that you ever imagined. You owe it to yourself and the generations to come!