Start The New Year Positively: How To Let Go Of Limiting Beliefs
Many of us start thenew year with resolutions. And yet,statistics showthat only 19% of us successfullyachieve our goals.Commonresolutions include health– related goals, quitting bad habits or attainingpersonal or professional milestones. However, unless you transform your mindset, it will be hard to achieve these–or any other–goals. If you really want to have a positive 2023, you need to let go of limiting beliefs that hold you back.
What is a limiting belief?
A limiting belief is any negative thought that prevents you from achieving your goals. You may think, “I hate my job but I’m too old to change careers.” Or, “I’mnot smart enough to go back to university.” Or maybe, “Relationships always end with hurt, so what’s the point in trying to find love?”
When you repeat these ideas, consciously or subconsciously, you reinforce negative ideas about yourself and the world.Even if you set goals,your limiting beliefs have already told you that you’re not good enough or your dreamsare impossible. You may find yourself more likely to give up at the first hint of difficulty. And this reinforces your limiting beliefs.You see,you may tell yourself,I knew I wasn’t good enough.
How do youlet go ofthese beliefs?
Start by writing down your limiting beliefs. This may be a hard process that calls for a lot of introspection,so you should only do this when you’re in the right frame of mind.
Then, select each belief and examine it. For example, you may want to start a small business but you may think that you’re not good enough to succeed. Ask yourself why you think so. Maybe people around you have spoken about you in a derogatory way, but that doesn’t mean that what they’re saying is true. Maybe you don’t have any experience in your field, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn about it. Maybe you even tried to open a small businessbeforeand it failed. But even this doesn’t mean you’re not good enough.
Manysuccessful people have failed many timesbefore succeeding. Instead, past failures can be lessons that will help you to succeed next time.
You can also think about ways in which your limiting belief hurt you in the past. Maybe you turned down a potentially great opportunity because you were sure that you would fail. The purpose of this exercise is not for you to experience regret. All the regret in the world can’t rewind time. It’s to realise how you’ve been holding yourself back and to resolve to do better in the future.
Next, you want to letgo of your limiting belief and replace it with something more positive. Instead of thinking that you’re not good enough to startyour own small business, you can think that you are going to do your best to makethesmall business succeed. You’re going to learn everything you canto give yourself the best chance of success. You know that there will be setbacks, but everyone experiences challenges,and this does not mean that you’re a failure.
Howdoyoustay positive?
Especially if you’ve nurtured limiting beliefs for years, it can be hard to let them go. Know that the negative voice will pop back into your head telling youthat you’re not good enough. You’ll need to fight back andmentallyreinforce your own self–worth. You can also ask the people around you to help. Tell trusted friends and family that you’re trying to be more positive and ask them to help hold you accountable. If you start speaking negatively about yourself, ask them to gently remind you that you’re trying tobe more positive.
Also, start gathering evidence that you were wrong to think so little of yourself. The best way to do this is to take action. If you take steps to create yoursmall business,each milestone achieved will show that you are, in fact, good enough to achieve your dreams.Once you’velet go of your limiting beliefs, you’ll be surprised how much you can achieve.
