It’s too hard. I’m not strong enough. I don’t have time. I throw these kinds of mental obstacles in my path all the time. I hear clients uttering these phrases, too. These words may not be true, but they do work to undermine us. Time to spring clean our brains.
Make a list of the thoughts that have become limiting beliefs or obstacles for you. These are the ideas and beliefs that keep you from achieving your goals—writing the book, running the marathon, losing weight. Once you have these written down, ask: what beliefs support these thoughts? Write those down, too. So, let’s say your limiting thought is, “I’m not strong enough to run a marathon.” Behind that might be other beliefs like, “I’m not an athlete” or “I’m not the kind of person who does amazing things.” You now have a big old list of limiting thoughts and beliefs that you can challenge.
Yup, that’s right. Don’t let those beliefs sit there, looking all smug and RIGHT on the page. Challenge them. Ask, “Is that true?” and “Is it working for me?” Challenge these thoughts the way you would challenge an opponent in a debate. Once you’ve run through your list of questions for the thoughts, try reversing your limiting belief. In this exercise, “I am not strong enough to run a marathon” becomes “I am strong enough to run a marathon.” How does that feel? Do that for each of the limiting thoughts and beliefs.
Now that you have done this exercise, make a decision to clean out some of those limiting thoughts you have been hanging onto for way too long. Tear them up and let them go. Replace them with the healing, positive statements you created. Now you are ready to go for your goal!
