Does this sound like you:
“I’m just a couple weeks in and I’ve already broke my New Year’s Resolutions….argh!”
“This happens every year. Why do I bother?”
“I feel so ashamed because I told everyone I would….”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just don’t have the discipline to do it.”
If so, you probably have lots of thoughts like these that are taking up rent in your head. These types of thoughts are called limiting beliefs.
Limiting beliefs are thoughts or beliefs that hold us back and prevent us from achieving our goals or reaching our full potential.
These beliefs can be about ourselves, our capabilities, or the world around us, and they can limit our actions, behaviors, and choices…and all those things impact our overall health.
Limiting beliefs are often formed in childhood or early life experiences and can be reinforced by negative experiences or messages we receive from others.
They can also be the result of negative self-talk or automatic thoughts that we have internalized over time. Limiting beliefs can be difficult to identify and challenge, but it is possible to overcome them and develop a more positive and empowering mindset.
Read through the following thoughts and put a check next to each one that resonates with you:
"I'm not good enough."
This belief can lead you to not try to make changes because you don't believe you have what it takes to succeed. If you feel like you’ve already have tried SO many things yet nothing worked, this can contribute to this limiting belief. This was my personal pitfall on my healing journey.
"I don't have the resources."
This belief can cause people to feel like they don't have the time, money, or support they need to make changes. Many people (maybe even yourself included) feel as though being healthy comes at a large financial cost. However, that does NOT have to be the case.
The truth is that the cost of an unhealthy lifestyle consisting of fast food, Netflix, and microwave meals can add up pretty quickly - not only for your bank account but also for your health. And continuing to troubleshoot your health challenges yourself while continuing to struggle and experience worsening of symptoms is super costly. It’s costly because you can’t work at your full capacity, it costs you energy to enjoy hobbies and activities you used to, and it costs you in terms of your mental health and emotional health, which impacts your most important relationships.
But becoming healthy doesn’t have to cost an arm and leg. You might be surprised that when comparing a healthy lifestyle to an unhealthy one, you can actually save more money in the long run, and there are even many healthy practices that are entirely free!
"I don't deserve it."
This belief can cause people to feel undeserving of success, happiness or even a basic foundational human right: health. I truly believe that everyone deserves to feel their best…even you.
"I can't do it."
This belief can cause people to doubt their abilities and give up when faced with challenges. You don’t have to face your health journey alone. Invest in working with a practitioner you feel rapport with who has strong coaching skills, and build a healthcare team around to support you on your journey if needed. By having support, you can ask questions, get encouragement and feel like you can achieve your goals when you have an actionable plan.
"It's not worth the effort."
This belief can cause people to believe that the benefits of making a change are not worth the time and effort it would take. Getting healthy doesn’t have to be depriving or challenging. By working with someone who knows your specific needs / challenges, the process becomes much easier.
If you put a check next to one or more of these above thoughts, here are 3 practices you can use to eradicate this thinking.
Identify the limiting beliefs.
Start by becoming aware of the specific thoughts and beliefs that are holding you back when it comes to your health. Pay attention to negative self-talk or automatic thoughts that pop up when you're faced with challenges whenever you try to implement a new habit (like going to the gym!) or trying to make a change. Write these beliefs down and try to understand where they came from and how they are impacting your actions and behaviors. You can either carry a notebook with you during the day and write the thoughts in as they occur, or pull out your phone and make either a written or voice memo to record what’s coming up. At the end of the day, review your memo and write out, underline, or star the thoughts that look like limiting beliefs.
Challenge the evidence.
Once you have identified a limiting belief, try to evaluate the evidence for and against it. Are there any examples in your life where you were able to overcome a challenge or achieve a goal despite this belief? Is there evidence to suggest that this belief is not true or is not always true in every situation? Spend some time thinking about these questions, or even write out your answers in a notebook.
Practice reframing.
Once you have challenged the evidence for a limiting belief, try to reframe it in a more positive or realistic way. For example, instead of thinking "Why do I always fall off track," try thinking "I may not be perfect at this yet, but I am learning and improving with every effort I make. Every little improvement adds up.” It helps to write out the new thoughts you want to implant on a piece of paper and place it somewhere you can take a moment to review it every day.
Set small, achievable goals.
One way to challenge and overcome limiting beliefs is to set small, achievable goals that help you build confidence and momentum. These goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART goals).
Practice gratitude and self-compassion.
Focusing on the things you are grateful for and being kind and understanding to yourself can help you build resilience and a more positive mindset. It's important to recognize that everyone makes mistakes and has setbacks, and it's okay to be imperfect. Instead of beating yourself up, try to be compassionate and understanding, and focus on the progress you have made.
Visualize
"Visualizing success" isn't a waste of time - it's science. Many incredibly successful people use visualization. Visualization alone won't make you Tiger Woods - but combining visualization with practice makes your potential soar. Science shows us four main benefits from visualization:
1) Reinforces positives with the power of your "reticular activation system" (RAS).
Every day, we're bathed in an incredible amount of stimulus. What's dangerous? What's beneficial? What's worthy of attention? Your RAS helps you spot that car swerving into your lane - but it'll also reject anything that doesn't reinforce your beliefs. Visualizing negative beliefs? Positives become invisible. Visualizing success? Your RAS helps you achieve by showing you what you need.
2) Reduces fear and anxiety by hacking your brain.
The root of fear and anxiety? The anticipation of unknown future events. Real and vividly imagined memories look the same to our brain. Intensely visualize a situation to make it familiar to your brain, which can reduce the impact of crippling anxiety.
3) Reprogramming your subconscious with positive beliefs.
Relaxing slows your brain waves, making it easier to replace any negative beliefs held deep in your mind. Relax and visualize to overwrite negative, limiting subconscious beliefs (while putting positive ones in their place).
4) Learning new skills (MUCH faster).
Visualizing a skill stimulates the same regions of your brain as actually performing the skill. This boosts your learning speed by building the same neural networks as actual practice.
Seek support and accountability.
It can be helpful to enlist the help of a trusted health care practitioner to guide you on your health journey so that you can minimize setbacks.. Having someone to share your progress with and seek guidance from can be a powerful motivator. If you want to learn more about how I can support you, sign up for a free gut check call <<
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