Let Go of Limiting Beliefs

You may have heard the phrase limiting beliefs and be familiar with the term.  However, the question I have for you is, do you know what your beliefs are?  I find this such a subjective topic because the very definition of belief centres on the mind and our way of thinking.  Wikipedia states that belief is the state of mind in which a person thinks something to be the case, with or without there being empirical evidence to prove that something is the case with factual certainty. Another way of defining belief is, it is a mental representation of an attitude positively oriented towards the likelihood of something being true.

So what are your beliefs regarding yourself and your ability to have the life you want?  Do you belive it is possible, or do you believe that good things never happen to you?  What are your beliefs around relationships and love?  Do you believe you are worthy of love and can have a loving, intimate relationship or is this only true in movies?  How about money and prosperity?  Do you believe that you are prosperous and can create your own wealth or are you poverty stricken in your thinking?

The fact is we all have limiting beliefs about various aspects of our lives; the challenge is to change them or to let them go.  After years of thinking in a certain way, this is never easy and I wonder if a good place to start is through surrendering, or letting go.  We hold onto our beliefs so tightly because they form part of our identity, but this clinging adds no value to our long-term prosperity.

Recently I remembered a time in my life where I had to surrender limiting beliefs, which I would like to share with you.

A personal story

I was between jobs when I went for an interview with two companies on the same day.  The first interview was 9 o’clock in the morning and I really, really, really wanted to work for that company. I felt so good about the interview and the whole experience and the position had every aspect that I seeking in a job.

The second interview at 3 o’clock in the afternoon was also with a very good company but my interviewer spoke so long that we were locked in the building with no means of escape.  We had to climb out the second floor window and shimmy down the drainpipe to reach the ground floor.  I was wearing a skirt!  I have never had to leave a building before or after in such an exciting manner and strangely enough, I don’t know why, but I was not offered the job.

A week after the interview the first company informed me that I was unsuccessful.  I really believed I had the job and as you can imagine I felt devastated and was heartbroken.  I decided to visit my parents for a month and during the time I worked on letting go of the pain that I was feeling and the disappointment and picking myself up and putting myself back together again.

You might be thinking, oh this is no big deal, it is only a job but what was at stake was my self-belief.  My confidence had taken a knock; I felt that I could not trust my intuition as intuitively it felt it had been a brilliant interview, and I experienced huge self-doubt, was I doing the right things in my life.  I remember spending much time praying and asking God to help me to let go and to start looking forward and to hold on to hope, that something else better would come up.

When I returned to my home in Johannesburg, it was under strange circumstances.  The aeroplane could not land due to bad weather; we were diverted and complete the journey the next morning.  When I landed in Johannesburg, a friend greeted me saying, “You got a phone call from this company. They want you to call them as soon as possible.”  It was the company from the first interview.  When I returned the call, they informed me that the situation had changed. The person they offered the job to rescinded their offer and they wondered if I would you be willing to go for another interview.  I went the next day and the job was mine.

What I learnt

During that time of disappointment and pain, I had to surrender the situation and let it go.  I realised that it was beyond my control but what was within my control was how I thought and what I chose to believe.

There was no way of predicting the outcome but I could prevent limiting beliefs from taking root and changing my future perspective.  I learnt not to sacrifice my self-worth over circumstances beyond my control.  I learnt that not attaching myself to a specific outcome but hoping for a good one allows for more flow within my life.  I learnt that rejection or no in one specific area of my life does not mean rejection for who I am as a person.

I learnt not to create a foundation for new limiting beliefs based on one set back.

My Challenge to you

As mentioned, we all have limiting beliefs.  Take a moment to think of the various areas of your life such as your relationships, work, spirituality, health, finances etc.  What beliefs do you have around these areas of your life?  How are they enabling you to grow and prosper, or how are your limiting beliefs hindering you.

Write down your greatest limiting belief. Ask yourself if it is 100% true or is there another way to look at that belief.  Can you surrender it and what belief would you like to replace it with?

We don’t always let go of our beliefs instantly, but allow yourself time to work through these areas, to surrender and start establishing new beliefs for yourself.

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