4 Self-limiting Beliefs That You Need to Change(Immediately)
The words that you say to yourself are potent
Do you know the one thing we hold very close to us? No, it’s not getting the last word in the argument.
It’s your beliefs. It has been made clear that our beliefs characterize our identity. You cannot act against your identity because you have no authority.
But, you can change your beliefs to morph your identity. That’s all you need to do.
A person (like you and me) who wants to change for the better will have to make subtle changes to their beliefs. It won’t be easy and it never has been but only you can do it for YOURSELF. Certain changes cannot happen from the outside but they need to be induced on the inside.
It might be the most boring thing, but we must do it because they control our habits.
“I’ll stop doing this [bad habit], so let me do this one last time.”
This one is a straight-up disaster.
We often fall into this trap because, “Oh, I’m done with this, so I’ll do it one last time to celebrate my victory.” Want to know what happens next? You might already know the answer if you have done this before. We fall right into the trap.
I have been in this dire situation with a few habits and fell into the loop instead of breaking apart. I tweaked my mindset a bit, and a few of my beliefs are disappearing.
Whenever you feel like you are done with the habit, but today you are getting an itch to perform it, Instead of doing it as a celebration of your victory.
Do this: I’ll start the streak today instead of this one last time. Tell yourself we are not going to start tomorrow but today.
It protects you from getting the dopamine hit because you are in for another ride once you get it.
“If I do this, I can get this”
If I can complete 4 out of 6 chapters one night before the exam, I can pass the exam. With a twist of fate, you fail your exams(was it?).
Most of us want the best possible reward for little to no effort.
Savings are good. But the equation falters when it comes to a worthwhile goal. For a valuable target, your amount of effort needs to match.
It’s okay to sleep without turning off the TV, even though you know you are about to drool. But, what’s not okay is pushing that deadline because you were lazy.
There’s one thing that I have understood: your “words” hold a lot of power. Not the ones you give to others but the ones you tell yourself.
The point I’m makin’ is the mind is a powerful place
And what you feed it can affect you in a powerful way
It’s pretty cool, right? Yeah, but it’s not always safe
Just hang with me, this’ll only take a moment, okay?
Just think about it for a second, if you look at your face
Every day when you get up and think you’ll never be great
You’ll never be great, not because you’re not, but the hate
Will always find a way to cut you up and murder your faith (woo!)— The Search (Song by NF)
I know it’s a song but don’t you think the verse is profound? I found it meaningful so I decided to share it with you.
“I want this, so I’ll tell about it to everyone.”
Have you been going out and telling everyone about your big goals? Does it make you feel good?
The most important question is: Are you acting in a way that puts you closer to big goals?
You must learn to keep your mouth shut if the answer is NO. That’s all there is. It releases dopamine when you talk about big goals, which makes you feel good. But, when you work on them, there isn’t much dopamine released, which makes you feel like talking instead of doing it.
The only fix for this is that you have to work on your big goals and only show the results. You can show the results with your mouth closed; it will be more than enough.
Nobody is going to be your Secret Santa.
“I’ll react first and think later.”
I don’t blame you for this one.
Our brains haven’t been optimized since the stone age, so they only look for threats. When you perceive something as a threat, you’ll likely react.
There’s a gap between sensing the threat and the reaction, where the decision is taken. You need to master the gap to protect yourself from knee-jerk reactions.
Emotions can get to places where their intervention isn’t required. That’s just the way they are. That’s the reason why you need to let them pass before acting.
Your thoughts pop and burst within a matter of milliseconds. However, if you touch the bubble even by mistake, the chain reaction starts and gulps down your entire mental energy just thinking about it.
Thinking way too much makes you lose touch with reality. Reality is the only place that matters because the rest is void.
Takeaways for you
You are a product of your beliefs. So, when you start unpacking yourself, you’ll only get what’s bundled together.
That’s why you need to change the beliefs that don’t serve you. You need to get rid of them even if it bothers you because of the underlying want to improve yourself.
Explore some of your limiting beliefs, as I have mentioned. Some will be explicit, while others will be implicit and need more self-reflection.
Let me know in the comments if you hold some of the above-mentioned beliefs and any others.
