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Our beliefs are one of the most unconscious filters we have.  Because of this it isn’t always easy to determine what our true beliefs are.  Most people will tell you what they  believe in and yet their lives don’t reflect those beliefs.

The only thing between you and your desires is your beliefs.  Your beliefs determine your success in all areas of your life because they drive your behaviour.  Beliefs are the thoughts we have about ourselves, other people and the world, that fuel our actions.

The thing about beliefs is that we live our life as if they’re true and yet we’ve just made them up.  The good news is that we can change them.

Our core beliefs are formed at a very early age.  It is  believed they are formed between 0 and 7 years of age.  The is a time when we are like sponges, taking everything we hear as true with no ability to logically challenge anything.  That’s how we learn and how we form our core beliefs and values.

Other beliefs are added as we live our life.

There comes a time in your life when it is important to challenge some of the things you hold true.  Based on what you want to achieve in your life, do your beliefs serve to move you closer to your goals or farther away?  Do they support you or limit you?

The first step to achieving a goal is a deep desire to achieve it.  When it’s a true desire you can feel it as if you already have it.  You can see what it’s like, hear what’s going on around you, you are so emotionally attached to achieving your desire that you can almost taste it.

The second step is to discover if you have any beliefs that are going to stop you from achieving your goal.  When you believe you can do it or have it you’ll find a way.  When you don’t have that strong belief, you’ll be stopped by challenges or obstacles.

Often the beliefs that elude you the most are the ones that are having the most impact on your life. They are so deeply ingrained that you don’t recognize them as beliefs.

There are 3 ways to identify your limiting beliefs.

1.  How you respond to others

Pay attention to how you respond to others.  When you have a negative emotional response to another person or situation, notice what you’re saying to yourself when you get the feeling or what you’re thinking to yourself.  Are you judging them or yourself?  Are you negating what they say?  Are you defending yourself in some way?  The words that come to you are your beliefs.

Often we get so caught up in our emotion that we miss the important message.  It’s never about the other person, it’s always about ourselves.  What does this tell you about yourself and your limitations?

2.  Reflection

What is your life reflecting back to you?  What are your results showing or telling you? The question to ask yourself is “what must I believe in order to have these results in my life?”

Look at all areas of your life.  Do you have the relationship you want?  Do you have the career you want?  Do you have the friends and support you want in your life?  Do you have the money you want in your life?  If not, my question to you is “what’s stopping you from having it now?”.

For example if you don’t have enough money there will be any number of underlying belief that supports you, such as, this is a slow economy, nobody is making money,  times are  tough, it’s hard to make good money, I don’t have enough education, I don’t have enough time, I’m not lucky………..and the list goes on.

The problem with these beliefs is that when you hold them, you act as if they are true which means you accept the consequences of them and don’t look to overcome your situation.

3.  Continuing Life Patterns

Notice if you have any patterns that you seem to repeat in your life.  Do you always end relationships?  Do you spend more money then you make?  Do pay off your bills only to stack the up again?  Do you reach a level of success and then something happens so you have to start over again?  Do you continually attract people into your life who aren’t trustworthy?  Are you constantly struggling to get ahead?

In order to recognize the patterns, you have to be willing to see them without judgement.  Some of the patterns may permeate more than one area of your life.  Often there are clusters of beliefs that are linked together, so it’s important to get to the clusters. Read the rest of this entry »

Our beliefs are so powerful and yet so elusive.  We succeed or fail based on our beliefs.  Most people live their life waiting to be shown something is possible while others forge ahead creating their life believing they can do it, without any concrete proof, just a deep knowing that it’s possible.

In the last while I’ve had an opportunity to explore the structure of our beliefs more fully.  In particular, how our beliefs impact our business success and our leadership abilities.  The subject has fascinated me for a very long time.  I’ve watched how beliefs can make or break a person.  I’ve watched people who from my perspective are amazing and accomplished and yet they believe the exact opposite of themselves.  And it’s not what I believe that counts, it’s what they believe. I’ve seen how this limits them in their life.  Not necessarily with what they accomplish, but  in how they feel about what they’ve accomplished.

Often the people who have achieved the most feel they’ve achieved the least.

Self-worth and self-esteem are also tied to our beliefs about ourselves.  Your self esteem is based on how you think and feel about yourself based on our self concept. Your self-worth is based on your evaluation of your self-concept.  And your self concept is what you believe about yourself .  This is very powerful since your beliefs shape your destiny and guide your behaviour.

I met an amazing young woman in Hawaii a number of years ago.  She was 29 at the time.  She was an artist.  I met her at the Kona Art Center in Holualoa.  She was very  successful with her paintings.  Her originals were so much in demand that they limited the sale of them to only once a year.

She was very excited about her art and very goal oriented.  She was always striving to learn more and achieve more.  Beyond her art, she won 23 medals swimming, performed in the local theatre and had a desire to go to college and become a playwright.

What makes her even more amazing is that she was born with what is commonly known as Downs Syndrome.  She believed that she could overcome this and didn’t want to use it as a crutch in her life.

Are you using any crutches in your life that are stopping you from living life to the fullest? Do you have beliefs that are sabotaging your success? Do you want to want to break free from the beliefs that are holding you back? Read the rest of this entry »