Let’s get rid of them!

I’m talking about limiting beliefs! Would YOU like to get rid of yours? Or do you believe that you have none? 🙂 Even the thought “I don’t have a limiting belief”, is a limiting belief in itself! Why? Because if you really believe thoughts like these, you won’t really look into examining your thought patterns and finding those limiting beliefs.

Let me give you an example: let’s say that an advanced Toastmasters member would like to become a professional speaker. He (or she) might think that he needs to first master public speaking skills, before getting out there to start his speaking career. So years go by, while he works on improving his public speaking skills. But professional speakers need also to increase their visibility, gain people’s trust, and look for opportunities to speak in order to get speaking engagements. This Toastmaster member can work on all these, while improving his public speaking skills! By working on all of these simultaneously, time can work even more favorably for him – this way he can fast track his public speaking career!
If we look from this perspective (working on different tracks simultaneously), we can consider the belief of “improving the public speaking skills first” as a limiting belief! Can’t we?!
Another limiting belief for such a person could be “I don’t know how to start a professional speaking career!” How motivated can you be to look for such information, when you think you don’t know where to start?!

Anton Chekhov, a Russian dramatist & short story author, said: “Man is what he believes.”
Are YOU aware of your limiting beliefs?

While conducting my research on the topic “removing limiting beliefs”, I’ve discovered on Internet more than 2 millions pages (2,130,000 ) mentioning these keywords! Wow! And more than 2000 YouTube videos (2,180) talking about limiting beliefs.
Overwhelmed by such vast information, I start thinking about the methods that I know to eliminate the limiting beliefs! So today I’d like to present to you three methods that can help us eliminate them. I named these methods:

1. “The Cranberry Juice»
2. “What If…?”
3. “Speed It Up!”

1. “The Cranberry Juice” method
I found this method in the James Arthur Ray Program “Success Certain Coaching”. The Coaching he suggests in his program does not correspond with the definition of Coaching from the International Coach Federation, but this is a great program … if you literally do whatever he asks.
What does “The Cranberry Juice” method teach us? Imagine that you have a glass of cranberry juice, and you start adding drops of water in it. At the beginning, you might not notice a change in the colour, but if you continue to add drop after drop, the water will dilute the cranberry juice … until we will have only water in the glass… if we put enough water.
I guess you heard about Affirmations (positive affirming sentences that we repeat to ourselves over and over). They would work similarly to the water drops in the cranberry juice.
If the cranberry juice is a limiting belief that we have identified, by choosing an affirmation that contradicts that limiting belief… and repeating it over and over, we might replace that limiting belief.
The drawback that I see regarding this method is that: It does take time and willingness to get the results we expect if… we don’t have any other limiting beliefs that block the process! 🙂 It also takes patience, persistence, and the belief that you will succeed even when you don’t see yet the results that you want. Some people loose their patience or belief, and give up…

2. “What If…?” method
The second method is about challenging the status quo! We can use this method when we become conscious of a limiting belief during a situation that shows up in our life. As soon as we realize that “Oh, this belief doesn’t serve me!”, we can become curious to see what is happening if we act against that belief! In other words, if we question the status quo more we will enrich our experiences and we will find evidence that the specific belief is not true! And the more reasons we find, the more chances are that we alter that limiting belief, and than we can replace it with a more empowering one.
The drawbacks: we need situations that will bring up a limiting belief, and the mindfulness of noticing it in the moment it shows up! Plus, we need the courage to go against our belief, to be curious to discover what’s happening if we act contrary to that belief! Nice cocktail of factors 🙂 not easy to get all together either!

3. “Speed It Up!” method
I call Coaching (as defined by the International Coach Federation) the “Speed It Up!” method for removing limiting beliefs. I don’t consider this method effective because most of the 2 million Internet pages (found on this topic) were created by coaches! 🙂 I consider it effective, because the power of Coaching to speed up this process (removing limiting beliefs) is proven!
Coaching helps to identify limiting beliefs before they affect more your life! Coaching brings limiting beliefs into your awareness! You might be so used to them… that you may not even realize how they affect your life and career! As the Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, said: “One thing that we’re never good at is to see yourself as others see you. A coach really really helps.”

Instead of waiting for situations that bring into your awareness the limiting beliefs, Coaching creates a safe environment where you can identify them and their effect on your life. The coaching process empowers you to discover by yourself what can you do to remove them. Coaching it’s not an imposed procedure or method, the client is an active participant to this process. By becoming more aware, motivated and taking the required actions, you are able to remove and replace your limiting beliefs, so you can move forward … even faster!
While the other two methods are free, coaching requires an investment in yourself. Even when you agree to that investment, you still have to be part of the process; the coach cannot do anything against your will and you are accountable for taking the right actions.

To recap, the three methods I’ve presented today are:
1. “The Cranberry Juice”
2. “What If…?”
3. “Speed It Up!”

No matter what method you choose, I highly encourage you to identify, remove and replace your limiting beliefs with more empowering ones! This way, life becomes more enjoyable and you can achieve much more!
And don’t forget: life … is a journey! How would you like it to be?

Thank you!

Gabriela Casineanu
http://thoughtsdesigner.com/