Your beliefs are at the core of who you are.
Beliefs guide your decisions and behaviour in all areas of
your life. They determine what you think is or is not possible. More often than
not they prove to be self-fulfilling prophecies.
Henry Ford once said, "Whether
you believe you can or believe you can't, you're probably right".
Some of our beliefs are not our own, but rather blindly
taken on from others. Once a belief is formed, we work overtime to prove it
right, even if the belief is something negative like “Nobody likes me” or “I’ve
never been very good at that”.
Do we have to let our beliefs govern us, even if they are
harmful to others and ourselves? Can we consciously make changes to what we
believe?
In the first half of the 20th century the world believed
that it was impossible to run a mile under four minutes. When, on May 6th 1954,
Roger Bannister ran a mile in 3.59 minutes, everyone was in awe.
Yet within a year many other runners ran the mile under four
minutes. It was as if a spell had been broken.
Some beliefs can be helpful and empowering. Studies show
that people who believe they are healthy live 7 years longer than those who
think they are unhealthy, regardless of their actual health condition at the
time of the survey.
Some beliefs can be unhelpful and disempowering. It is said
that we cannot achieve our goals or that we are not worthy of other people’s
acceptance.
Those kinds of beliefs are called ‘Limiting Beliefs’. They
typically sound like “I am ugly”, “I will never be successful”, “I can’t work
with those kind of people”, etc.
Limiting Beliefs fall into three categories:
Hopelessness: My goal cannot be achieved under
any circumstances.
Helplessness: My goal can be achieved, but I
lack the ability to achieve it.
Worthlessness: I don’t deserve to achieve this
goal, because of something I am/am not or have/have not done.
Limiting beliefs can be a result of significant experiences
in our lives, usually when we’re much younger.
Consider the story about the man who, as a nine-year-old,
killed his friend’s three-year-old brother, while playing cricket. He was
focusing so hard on the ball that he did not notice the young boy running
behind him. As a result he formed the belief “If I go after my goal, I end up
hurting others.” This belief made it very difficult for him to succeed in his
adult life.
When attempting to overcome limiting beliefs the first step
is to become aware of them. This can be challenging, since our limiting beliefs
are often unconscious. Becoming aware of unconscious limiting beliefs can
sometimes be all that is needed. At other times we may need to question our
beliefs or act as if something else were true.
So what do you believe about you?
Find out more at the upcoming webinar “The Five Golden Rules for Personal Success” on June 13th. To register or find
out more click here.
Leigh Ashton
