#13 What Are The Limiting Beliefs That Keep Your Life Out Of Control?
May 11, 2008
Limiting beliefs are very interesting. Most of us have inherited them from our parents or other influential people in our lives, or even from the media. These can be beliefs that stop us from excelling in life.
I saw an extreme example of a limiting belief on a trip to Sri Lanka recently. In an elephant orphanage, the elephants seemed to be held in their places by a length of string tied around one back leg. Clearly the elephants could have broken away in a second but apparently they never did. The reason for this was explained by one of the handlers.
When the elephant babies are brought in to the centre a chain is attached to one leg to hold them in their pens. Of course they struggle and fight, but eventually they give up, accepting that whenever they are chained it is pointless to resist. Over time the chain is replaced by a thick rope, then a thinner and thinner rope until it is virtually little more than a piece of string. By now, however, the slightest pressure on the elephant’s leg makes it think it cannot move from that particular spot. Without going into the ethics of this treatment, it is clear to see how a limiting belief is used to control the elephants.
People are not a lot different. We all have our own limiting beliefs. Many websites have been written about this concept, and various ways developed to overcome our negative core beliefs.
In business I see the following five major negative beliefs every day. I believe they really do stop people from succeeding, and make life so much harder for business owners than it has to be:
- Small business is meant to be hard.
- You have to work really long hours to be successful in your own business.
- You can never make huge amounts of money in a small business.
- You have to sacrifice a lot to have your own business.
- Most small businesses fail.
Now then-if you hold these core beliefs, why on earth are you in business? I have to admit, somewhat shamefacedly, that I held them myself for many years, and saw it almost as a personal challenge to prove them wrong.
Over time, and with the beneficial advice of too many people to list here, I came to realise these beliefs are not right.
- There is no reason at all why owning a small business should be tougher than any other way of making a living.
- Working really long hours is not a prerequisite to building a successful business.
- I know many, many people who have made and are making millions of dollars per year from their small business.
- I don’t consider anything I do in business to be a sacrifice-it is more a matter of determining my priorities.
- Most small businesses fail for very predictable reasons. If you are aware of these pitfalls your chances of success are very high.
What negative beliefs are holding you back? Search deep within and see what nerves are touched when you explore some of the above thoughts. Once you have identified your limiting beliefs, replace each one with a positive belief. It takes time to change negative beliefs, but with perseverance you will.What can I do today?
Identify your own negative beliefs, whatever they may be. Write each one down and then alongside it write a positive belief you want to have instead. From this point on, read the positive versions every day for at least a month.
[tags]Balance Life, out of balance, Limiting Beliefs, Out Of Control[/tags]
Comments
Got something to say?
