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www.EatYourCareer.com | ©2010 Chrissy Scivicque EATYOURCAREER.COM HOW TO BREAK FREE OF LIMITING BELIEFS
www.EatYourCareer.com | ©2010 Chrissy Scivicque
EATYOURCAREER.COM HOW TO BREAK FREE OF LIMITING BELIEFS
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
“Limiting behaviors originate from limiting beliefs. Our beliefs form the basis of our experiences and how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. When our beliefs are limited, we limit our perception and experience of what is possible. It doesn’t matter if those beliefs are false. As long as we believe them, they will accordingly impact and mold our perception of experience.
The more limiting our beliefs, the less powerful we feel.”
The Leadership Integrity Challenge: Assessing and Facilitating Emotional Maturity
Edward E. Morler, MBA, PhD
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
What is a Limiting Belief?
A belief is a conviction or generalization that is accepted as truth without positive proof or knowledge. A limiting belief is one that places artificial boundaries around your personal potential. Most of the time, such beliefs exist beneath the surface, in our subconscious mind, and have been there for years and years (usually since childhood). We might not even know they exist—but most of us have at least a few. A Limiting Belief…
• tricks you into not trying. • blinds you to the realities of the world. • stops you from taking risks. • keeps you where you are. • obstructs your growth. • keeps you repeating negative patterns. • prevents you from taking responsibility for your life. • prevents you from going after your dreams. • encourages procrastination. • gives you an excuse for not doing what you really want to do. • fills you with doubt and fear. • prompts you to find “evidence” to support it. • stops you from imagining the possibilities. • makes you feel negative and discontent. • prevents breakthroughs.
Beliefs Are NOT Facts
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
Common Limiting Beliefs
• I don't have this skill. • I’m not good at this. • Others can do it better than me. • I'm not experienced enough. • I'm not smart enough. • I’m not important enough. • I'm too young. • I’m too old. • I don't have the money. • I don't have the time. • It's just not in my genes. • It's too hard. • I don't deserve success. • I’m lazy. • Nothing ever works out for me. • Nobody ever notices the work I do. • I never get what I want. • This is just “the way it is.” • I have no control over this. • I have nothing to offer.
Listen to Yourself What Lies Are You
Telling?
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
Confront your limiting beliefs. Write them out:
• ________________________________________________________ • ________________________________________________________ • ________________________________________________________ • ________________________________________________________ • ________________________________________________________
Now, review the following suggestions for breaking your limiting beliefs. After each one, there is space for brainstorming. Consider the following questions as you go through them:
• What would this do to my limiting belief? • How does this idea change my belief? • How does this idea change my perception of this belief? • Assume you have/will follow this suggestion. What next?
Note: It may help to specifically think of just one limiting belief that you want to work on as you go through this list.
1. Acknowledge It Identify the Limiting Belief. Greet him. Let him know that you’re aware he exists. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Expose It Don’t hide from it. Bring it out into the open. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Advertise It Share this Limiting Belief with others. They’ll tell you how ridiculous you’re being when you can’t see it yourself. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
4. Challenge It Ask “What evidence do I have that supports this belief?” _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Risk It What if this Liming Belief was actually true? So what?! Throw caution to the wind and you’ll discover that “failure” isn’t so bad. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Remember Others Like It What Limiting Beliefs have you overcome in the past? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Examine It When did it start? Where did it come from? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Pay Attention To It What is it preventing you from accomplishing? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Take It To Its Logical Conclusion If you don’t get rid of this belief, what will happen? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
10. Get Mad At It This Limiting Belief is a jerk. Don’t make friends with him. Show him who’s boss. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
11. Laugh At It Seriously? This Limiting Belief is hilarious! I can’t even keep a straight face when I think about it… _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
12. Take a Break From It Put it on hold. Pretend it doesn’t exist for a while. What’s different? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
13. Exaggerate It Turn up the volume on it. How ridiculous does it look when it’s 20 feet tall? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
14. Turn It On Its Head What would happen if the exact opposite was true? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
15. Repeat It Ever repeat the same word or phrase so many times it stops making any sense? Do that. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
16. Prioritize It Make it an important priority to get over this Limiting Belief. Stop putting it off. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
17. Lean Into It Sometimes pulling away from it only makes it stronger. When you stop resisting, it goes away. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
18. Replace It What UN-‐Limiting Belief can you put in its place? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
19. Starve It What actions and thoughts feed this limiting belief? Get rid of those and watch it die. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
20. Make It Hurt Try the old stand-‐by rubber band snap on the wrist every time you find yourself falling back on it. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
21. Listen To It What is this belief really telling you? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
22. Respect It Limiting beliefs shouldn’t be ignored or belittled. Underestimate it at your own peril. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
23. Doubt It Just because it feels real, doesn’t mean it IS real. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
24. Invest In It Put your time, money, and energy into overcoming it. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
25. Imagine Life Without It What would you be capable of? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
26. Separate It Maybe this belief is attached to someone in your life and you’re just absorbing it. Is someone else feeding it to you? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
27. Disassociate It Is there an action, situation or feeling that triggers this belief to pop up? Learn how to have one without the other. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
28. Recognize Inconsistencies Are there times when it doesn’t show up? What’s that all about? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
29. Tilt It Look at it differently. A new perspective may change it completely. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
30. Sacrifice It Yes, you may feel like it’s a part of you that you can’t imagine living without. Let it go. Sacrifice it to the Gods. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
31. Reason With It Logically. Truthfully. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
32. Look for Twins Is one Limiting Belief showing up in multiple ways? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
33. Forgive Yourself Don’t hold it against yourself that you’ve been harboring this Limiting Belief. You’re human. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
34. Interrupt It When you notice a Limiting Belief rearing its ugly head, stop yourself mid-‐thought and… _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
35. Breathe Into It Inhale, exhale. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
36. Confront It Look it in the eye. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
37. Verbalize It Say it out loud. How silly does it sound? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
38. Write About It Put it on paper. How different does it look? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
39. Simplify It At its fundamental core, what is this Limiting Belief about? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
40. Engage With It Start a conversation. Get to know it. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
41. Connect It How is this Limiting Belief connected to your mental attitude? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
42. Align Forces Against It Prepare all of your faculties for battle. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
43. Reword It If you phrase it in a different way, does it offer a different meaning? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
44. Compartmentalize It Isolate it to one corner of your mind. Don’t let it infect other thoughts. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
45. Normalize It You’re not unique for having these Beliefs. Everyone has them. It’s okay. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
46. Reframe It It might feel like truth. But it’s not. It’s a perception. Reframe it as such. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
47. Take Responsibility For It This Limiting Belief belongs to you. It’s yours to keep or discard. Make the choice. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
48. Disconnect From It This belief is not a part of who you are. It is not your identity. Losing it will only let your true identity shine more. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
49. Tune It Out Stop listening! Turn a deaf ear on it. Hit the “mute” button. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
50. Abandon It Leave it in a basket at the edge of the woods. A pack of wolves might adopt it and raise it to be one of their own. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
Take Action On It Nothing will change without your active participation. What are
you doing TODAY to overcome this Limiting Belief?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
©2010 Chrissy Scivicque www.EatYourCarerer.com [email protected]
About the Author: Chrissy Scivicque
Chrissy Scivicque (pronounced “Civic”) is an award-winning freelance writer/editor with a passion for two things: food and helping others. As a Certified Nutritionist and an experienced career coach, she combined her two loves and created EatYourCareer.com, a website dedicated to helping people create the nourishing professional lives they deserve. Learn more about it here.
Chrissy has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. In 2007, she started The Executive Assistant’s Toolbox, a popular website devoted to professional and personal development topics. One year later, a start-up company called OfficeArrow.com purchased the website and hired her to be their Managing Editor. For the past three years, she has acted as a mentor for the community of office professionals on OfficeArrow. In this role, she writes, edits, and performs training sessions online and throughout the U.S.
Currently, Chrissy also writes for WebMD and is a contributor to Forbes.com.
Chrissy has written hundreds of articles on topics relating to personal and professional development and her work has appeared on dozens of websites, as well as in several text books and magazines. She has created podcasts, webinars and online videos as well. As a speaker, Chrissy has presented for high-profile corporations (such as Turner Broadcasting) and at large conferences (including the 2010 Administrative Professionals Conference in Las Vegas).
Chrissy has a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Sonoma State University, a Certification in Copy Editing from UC San Diego, and a Certification in Clinical Nutrition from Bauman College in Penngrove, CA. Prior to working on the Web, she worked for several years in banking and finance in Northern California. Now, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia; works from home with her dog and two cats; and spends holidays with her family in Colorado.
Chrissy helps people develop strategies and take meaningful action towards achieving career goals. Her philosophy encourages you to take an active role in managing your career path and to do so with a holistic point-of-view in order to create a truly fulfilling
professional experience.
Learn More About Chrissy’s Career Coaching Services Here
