Reflections on Beliefs
Posted on November 13, 2012 by Leslie R Singer, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
“You see everything is about belief, whatever we believe rules our existence, rules our life.”
BELIEFS
“You see everything is about belief, whatever we believe rules our existence, rules our life.” ~Don Miguel Ruiz
“I can’t!” I said as a knee-jerk response and just as emphatically as if it was some fact I just looked up on Wikipedia. The thing with a knee-jerk response is that it is automatic and given without much thought. Thankfully, my yoga instructor quickly pushed back with the question, “What if you can?”
Huh?
I am almost certain my face took on a look of puzzlement as this question began to short circuit my inner critic- the voice that spoke those limiting words, I can’t. It was humbling, I mean, What if I can?! Sure, with this thought I felt exposed and, yes even vulnerable. Yet, it also felt exciting to think of the possibility, what if I can? Hmmmm.”
Our beliefs can support us (I can) or they can limit us and have us living below our potential (I can’t). The world we experience is, after all, a creation of our perceptions. Our perceptions readily become our story or a string of thoughts made up of assumptions, interpretations, and limiting beliefs.
As for me, these AILs as I will call them (Assumptions, Interpretations, and Limiting beliefs) have manifested as my personal critic to everything that is wrong or can’t be done. Overwhelmingly the message my inner voice tells me is “I am not enough”. I can be ‘not enough’ in such a variety of ways. Do any of these sound familiar to you?
• First let me lose 10 lbs, then I can start dating again.
• I ‘m not strong enough to start a fitness class.
• Oh, I can’t do <fill in the blank>, I am not <fill in the blank> enough (~or~ I am too <fill in the blank>).
I liken this inner critic, sometimes referred to as a gremlin, monkey mind, or NAT (negative attitude thinking) to a panel of show judges….
Welcome to your show, The (Inner) Voice.
I am the emcee for your thoughts, Gabby Gremlin, your finest inner critic! Let’s welcome our judges. Put your hands together for…Aaliyah Toyou. Best known for telling you like it isn’t! He will remind you that it happened before, it will therefore happen again.
Isaih This. He has a negative opinion and judgment for everything and not only that, he can be very convincing!
And our third judge,
Holden U. Hostage. He is best in class for having you believe in some crazy limiting ideas. He even takes credit for having people believe the world was flat; imagine that!
Okay, hokey, I know. Nonetheless, our inner critic can be so spectacular at sabotaging us from reaching our goals or even from setting our truly desired goals. Any experience we interpret with a negative view can quickly become a limiting belief. It is the limiting belief that has the potential of negatively shading the decisions we make.
Here are just a handful of limiting beliefs that might resonate with you…
• There must be something wrong with me.
• I am not enough.
• No one understands me.
• I need to be right.
• People are judging me.
• I missed my chance.
What are your beliefs? When you have identified one or some of your beliefs, ask yourself this, do your beliefs paint a discouraging and worrisome world or do they color your world view with hope and possibility?
The mind is an amazing and complex system of conscious and subconscious. And while beliefs are just that- beliefs, they all belong to the realm of our subconscious mind. “All beliefs are executed on auto pilot by the subconscious mind…while it is able to carry out the most complex of tasks automatically, it is not rational in nature and hence cannot distinguish between those beliefs that serve you and those that don’t.” (http://www.mind-your-reality.com/limiting_beliefs.html#Part_2)
So how do we turn off auto-pilot and take control over our flight plans? Follow the In-Flight Manual…
In-Flight Manual
1) Awareness: identify those beliefs that are not serving you
2) Question your beliefs:
a. I can’t. What if you can?
b. I am not enough. What if you are enough? What does enough look like?
c. There must be something wrong with me. What if you are whole and complete?
3) Rewrite those limiting beliefs to supporting beliefs
a. I can…
b. I am enough…
c. I am unique, gifted, and wholehearted…
4) Practice, repetition
5) SOAR!
Circling back to my AHA moment…what really struck me is how a simple turned around question put the kabash on my inner critic. WHAT IF YOU CAN? That question, in a matter of seconds, transformed my inner critic to my inner champion.
For all of its complexity and capability, our minds can only think one thought at a time! That is pretty wild when you think about how much multitasking we do in our daily lives. So, if our minds can only think one thought at a time, why not choose a positive, affirming thought?
I believe in you, Leslie
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
— Dr. Wayne Dye
