The Power of Beliefs
Would you expect anything to manifest in your life that you didn’t believe was possible? Probably not. Our life continually shows us what our underlying beliefs are about ourselves and the world, good or bad. It takes a level of awareness to see that you in fact are creating undesirable things in your life. It also takes attention, focus and determination to change underlying and often subconscious beliefs to experience more peace, ease and positive experiences.
This is not to say that unexpected things happen, both good and bad that we have no control over. But it is more than possible to change how we feel and how we experience life by examining what we choose to believe.
Since beliefs are often ingrained in us from a young age, it might seem impossible to change them. But as adults we need to realise that every belief we have and keep hold of, is a choice. It is never too late to challenge and change any self-sabotaging beliefs.
Uncovering your beliefs
There are so many tools, techniques and practices that have been developed to try and uncover limiting beliefs as if they are hiding from you in the deep dark ethers of your mind. This isn’t true and since your beliefs create your life, the easiest way to uncover beliefs that are not serving you is by looking at what is not working well in your life.
Where you feel stuck or where there is an area that no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to progress, there is an underlying belief that is not serving you. Make a list of these areas or experiences. It’s also beneficial to look at areas which are going well and which you find easy to accomplish or maintain and examine your beliefs there too. These are self-serving beliefs, so you don’t need to change them, but acknowledging them can shine a light on your power to create.
Become your own detective
Once you have your list, it’s time to start the investigation. If something isn’t working out how you want it to, determine what your self-talk around that topic is. This is usually easy to identify since negative self-talk often feels like it’s on an automatic and never never-ending loop in our mind.
What beliefs do these thoughts point to? Some common core limiting beliefs are:
- Fear of success
- Fear of failure
- Fear of not being good enough or deserving
- Fear of rejection/not being loved
Once you’ve identified your core limiting beliefs, it’s time to crush them and replace them.
Challenge your beliefs
Limiting beliefs are mostly untrue, so now we are going to find evidence to prove that the beliefs that are holding us back, aren’t viable and should no longer be holding us hostage in our lives.
For example, if you believe you don’t know enough to start a business, find stories of successful entrepreneurs who made it, but who started small. Or even ones that failed, but eventually made it. Failure isn’t really failure when you have learned something from it. These stories should challenge your beliefs and begin to soften them. If others have accomplished something you thought was not possible, then it’s possible for you to accomplish it too.
If you have been diagnosed with a health condition that you believe you can’t heal from. Find those who have, they are out there and if they have done it, then it must mean that your belief isn’t concrete. If it’s not concrete, it can be changed to better serve your needs.
Start telling yourself a different story
When you find stories that make the seemingly impossible possible, then it’s time to start changing your self-talk. “I can start my own business like so many others, just because I don’t know what I’m doing, doesn’t mean I can’t start and learn as I go along”.
“I can heal my body like so many others, any other thought or belief is just not true.”
This is the time to be vigilant and aware of your constant self-talk. The ego likes safety, and it will keep reminding you of your beliefs to keep you safe. Training the ego that it will remain safe even without the belief, takes focus and repetition.
Be patient
If you’ve had a limiting belief for 20 years, it may well be gone in a few hours. By challenging it, you may quickly and completely shatter it, so it no longer has a hold on you. That’s a great result and you should work through each limiting belief in the same way to truly start feeling and living a different life.
Or it may take some time for your subconscious to believe it to be a fact and to accept the new belief. You will know when you have shifted the belief, as thinking about it won’t have the same hold and feeling it did previously when you believed it to be true.
If it takes a few weeks or months, keep reminding yourself about the facts that challenged the belief and keep replacing negative thoughts with positive and empowering statements. Repetition and persistence are key. Any belief can be changed, but you have to want it enough to stay committed and to keep challenging your thoughts.
Self-awareness
Meditation can help the process by quietening the mind and stopping the endless loop of sabotaging thoughts. With daily practice, you will also help develop more self-awareness as you go about your day outside of meditation which will help you catch the thoughts early and allow you to reframe them.
Self-awareness is your greatest ally in changing your beliefs and in changing your life. What you experience on the inside, you will manifest on the outside. Believe you are worthy and believe you can change. Become aware of what is happening on the inside to empower yourself and live to your fullest potential in a more beautiful state.
