Limiting beliefs are thrown around and are the “buzz word” in the coaching community and for anyone who integrates themselves into the self-help world. But does anyone really understand what they, as well as limiting decisions, or know how to remove them successfully?
As a therapist who works with the unconscious mind, I know firsthand how limiting beliefs and limiting decisions can have traumatic effects within a person which holds them back from what they want and desire in life.
Furthermore, it also causes them to be entangled within negative emotions and feelings that can be debilitating; keeping one stuck in repeating life patterns and circumstances that feel out of our control, it’s easy then to become a victim of circumstance.
A belief is just something that we believe to be true, which in turn are judgements, opinions and interpretations of us and those around us. We can have limiting beliefs which restrict us and prevent us from doing or having what we want, and we have beliefs which empower us.
Beliefs are stored in the unconscious mind, so we are not consciously aware we have beliefs within us that are often working against us which can impact our thoughts, actions and life we experience.
Commons examples I see in my practice of limiting beliefs are “ I am not good enough”, “I am unlovable” “I am too old” “I will never have any money”
Do Affirmations Work?
I have seen a lot of people or coaches say “just use affirmations to reframe a limiting belief “ I am a millionaire (but you are broke) “I am beautiful” (but you look in the mirror and find every flaw or you can’t even look in the mirror). I am sure everyone has tried using affirmations at some point; and whilst these have a place in our lives they are not the “Fix” to actually delete the disempowering belief. The conscious mind is also very good a dismissing or rejecting a belief you are trying to overwrite, for example saying “ I am a millionaire” 10 times a day, the conscious mind will reject this as it knows you have nothing in the bank! It doesn’t make sense to the conscious mind and this equals= rejection.
Using affirmations in attempt to over write a limiting belief is like filling up a cup that has white rice in it, and you are attempting to put healthy brown rice in its place; you start pouring the brown rice into the cup, but it has nowhere to go, there is no room, therefore it just falls outside the cup onto the counter, and the white rice remains…. If we really wanted to make progress here, we would need to empty the cup of white rice in the bin, and then start to fill the cup with the healthy brown rice …. We need to get rid of what is not working or wanted first, identify where its root programming lies to remove it; BEFORE we start replacing a belief (or negative emotions) with a more empowering one!!
When Limiting beliefs are formed
Limiting beliefs are normally formed in early childhood often through a significant experience or imprint. These are called the blueprint years, as this is when we are in a natural hypnotic state and theta brainwave state is predominant. During these years, children are like sponges, absorbing the beliefs, emotions, and behaviours from their environment without filters. This is why it’s often referred to as the “programming” phase of life. Experiences and suggestions (whether positive or negative) in this phase can form core beliefs and shape a child’s view of the world for life.
If we develop unhealthy or negative beliefs, these remain in the unconscious mind, and we are not aware they even exist! It’s no different to hardware running on a computer, its just silently running the show. Because we are 97% unconscious in our everyday life, living life on autopilot, putting out unconscious beliefs, habits, expectations and values. Because our beliefs are limiting, outdated, or unaligned with our current desires, they can prevent us from achieving the life we consciously want. You may feel like you’re doing everything “right,” yet struggle with results, not realising that deep-rooted beliefs are silently influencing your choices.
This then becomes a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, throwing out our beliefs to the world without knowing It. Through our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, we project our inner beliefs into society. If you hold deep, limiting beliefs, even unknowingly, you may unconsciously sabotage your efforts. For example, you might shy away from opportunities, procrastinate, or avoid taking risks—all because your unconscious is acting in line with old programming.
This creates frustration because, consciously, you may not understand why things aren’t working out. You feel like you’re putting in effort, yet the results don’t align with your goals, this then fuelled with the “excuses” and the “reasons” or the projection of “Blaming others” why you do not have what you want in your life, these are all classic signs of a limiting belief or decision running in the background.
The only tangible way to remove a belief so that you can become free, empowered, and be a cocreator of your life is to reprogram your neurologically.
You first need to establish the root cause or significant event when a particular limiting belief, decision or negative emotion was installed.
One the initial event has been found (through a deep dive in the unconscious mind with coaching or hypnotherapy techniques) it can then be removed/deleted for good! and in its place an empowering belief can be installed within the neurology that is going to set you up for success to go towards your desire and in turn develop a more empowering mindset.
This is a transformative yet efficient process, designed to deliver deep emotional and mental shifts in a relatively short time frame. Through my method, I’ve worked with clients to remove multiple limiting beliefs and as many as five or six deeply rooted negative emotions such as fear, anger, hurt, or feelings of inadequacy, in just five hours.
By releasing these burdens, clients find themselves empowered and free to shape the future they truly desire, no longer held back by the emotional grip of the past.
If you feel you are STUCK in a pattern that you can’t seem to break out from; jump on a FREE coaching call with me to so I can share some simples steps to hlep you BREAK FREE!
