01 May How Your Limiting Beliefs Impact Your Goals
When you think of things you have yet to accomplish, what comes to mind?
Does the conversation go like this, “that’s easy, I just need to get on that,” or “I’ll do that next, no problem”?
Not really?
Maybe you think more along the lines of, “I’ll do that when I have the money,” or “in a few more years”, “when I have more experience” or “when my kids are grown.” Or, perhaps it’s more like, “when donkeys fly.”
When you limit your beliefs about what you can do, you tell yourself stories in your head that are usually far from the truth.
In fact, being a part of the human collective, we often come into this life with notions that we learn at an early age. For instance, if you’re told that you have asthma as a child (true or not), and that you shouldn’t run, it may be less likely that you try to run a marathon when you are an adult.
The same goes for things you haven’t seen with your eyes or felt with your other senses. This is why the word ‘belief’ is exactly that, something that you trust and have faith in that a certain outcome will occur.
When you have a goal or dream that is really important to you and it is put on the back burner with no real plan or sense for achieving it, it goes into your mental and emotional stockpile of non-urgent items. Yet it doesn’t really go away. It says, like an itch under your skin. You can’t quite isolate what’s making you want to scratch. This feeling often happens even when it is truly important to you.
Why? It’s sometimes easier to use that itchy stock pile as an excuse for the fear of actually taking the step of doing. We procrastinate. When, the goal should be treated like a new baby. It should be cared for, loved, nurtured, and honored now.
Not addressing these dreams can have ill effects on your life and show up in places like your emotional and physical well being.
When I ask people why they didn’t make that dream a priority, it’s often because “other things got in the way” or “they just haven’t gotten to it yet”.
If this sounds familiar, you may be letting fear win.
If you aren’t in this mindset, you are not alone. Just as we train our thinking to believe that we can’t do something, we can equally train ourselves to honor our biggest dreams and goals.
By a slight shift in thinking, we can either sabotage or empower how we live our lives to the fullest. One way to do this is to break down your dream into baby steps. If you’ve always wanted to travel to Italy, but it seems that too many things get in the way, start with figuring out what those “things” are by making a list, and read it outloud. Let your list “breathe” like wine. Come back to it later, and see how it feels.
If you want to clarify what is holding you back, begin with the items that seem like the biggest obstacles. Write down why they get in the way of what you want to do. Next, think about the information you are left with, and cross off those that don’t seem so big anymore.
What you’ll be left with are your biggest, limiting beliefs. Take one of these beliefs and play devil’s advocate with it. For instance, if “money” is one reason why you cannot travel, ask yourself what you can do to set aside money and save consistently for your travel goal. Maybe make the trip shorter or change the location to a spot that doesn’t cost as much as your first dream getaway. I’m not telling you to switch your big dream. I’m asking you to break it down into baby steps that make it possible to reach your goal.
This new way of thinking helps pave the way for further shifts in the way you think about possibilities and the ability to move toward creating what you want in a number of areas of your life.
Keep those goals on a board, in a journal, or on your computer. Most importantly, make them accessible so you see them everyday, and you are surrounded with what is most important to your happiness.
Let me know how it goes!
Anne’s blog has new wisdom. Get free tips and check it out here: annemandler.com
Also see, The #1 Way to Set Expectations and Get Your Worth – Anne Mändler Coaching annemandler.com/2013/12/setting-expectations-and-asking-for-your-worth/
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Anne Mandler is a speaker, writer and educator. She teaches highly accomplished business owners how to run a successful business while paying attention to their total wellbeing. She is a creator of community connection and a supporter of people knowing their happiness. She runs 2 successful organizations.
#Getting Down to Business #Goals #Planning #Speaking Your Truth #procrastination #dreams
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