Crashing Through Limiting Beliefs
by Kevin Hogan
Page 4
Belief: The Foundation of Your Life
Your beliefs are the foundation upon which your entire life
rests. Much of this foundation was formed through childhood
conditioning, the experiences you've had during the course of
your life, and the conclusions you've drawn as a result of them.
Every action (or non-action) you've taken during your lifetime
has been encouraged or discouraged by these beliefs.
Beliefs are typically created quickly, and then rapidly reinforced.
And, of course, most of the situations in your life are a result
of your actions (or inactions).
In order to begin pushing your limits and increasing your
potential, you need to examine the beliefs you have about your
limitations. You've started the process by making a list of
your most obvious perceived limitations, but in order to
effectively and permanently change them, you'll need to
challenge them and actively work on expanding your concept of
what is possible.
Whether you realize it or not, you've got a certain internal
"set point" where you think your capabilities stop in any given
arena.
These set points can vary according to the intensity of
your beliefs and they may be different for different activities.
For example, you might know that you are good at one activity
but feel you stink at another.
(and that can be darned useful if true!)
It can be helpful to examine the reasons WHY you feel this way,
because most often our limiting beliefs hold no substance
whatsoever.
- Maybe someone you looked up to, told you that you were too weak to be
great at sports, so you never bothered to find out.
- Or your friend laughed at your artwork and you decided it was a
stupid hobby anyway.
(I laughed at my own artwork and realized it was a stupid hobby
for me....)
It's bad enough when other people set limitations for us, but
the problem is compounded when we begin doing it ourselves.
What happens is that so many people have told you that you are
not capable of so many things you become disabled...or
dis-capabled.
I hate the word, "disability," and find the word "handicap,"
soooooo much more helpful.
Dude in a wheel chair.
That isn't a disability. It's a handicap. A handicap is something
that is acknowledged and is taken into account in competition....
...like golf.
In competitive sports, it's factored in the pointspread.
Teams don't quit competing because they are underdogs.
And how many people in America have "disabilities?"
Too dang many.
Lots of people in wheelchairs operate million dollar companies.
That's not a disability, it's a disadvantage. (And some even argue
against that!)
People are told something, and they start to believe it.
...that they can't do X.
What a shame this is!
Do you see the pattern of destruction and the dimmed
potential that results from it? For most of us, it takes
only ONE negative experience to start an avalanche of
massive proportions. Of course, it doesn't usually happen
quickly but is rather the result of years of gradually
decreasing belief in ourselves....from lots of avalanches.
Before we go any further, it's important to understand that
your limiting beliefs were FORMED, sometimes by others in your
life and sometimes by you.
Either way, they can be unformed, smashed, rolled into a ball
and formed into something else entirely - just like a lump of clay.
Your beliefs are malleable and flexible!
Keypoint: Beliefs feel like "facts", but they are simply thoughts that
have gained strength and solidity because of sheer repetition
on your part.
When you really start to get this, it becomes very exciting!
Suddenly a whole new world opens up to you, a world in which
just about anything is possible.
How do limitations affect your potential? 
Continue: Page | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Kevin Hogan
Network 3000 Publishing
3432 Denmark #108
Eagan, MN 55123
(612) 616-0732
Photos appear under license with Stockexpert.
