The power of identifying and changing self-limiting beliefs and how to change them

Our beliefs, about ourselves and our potenial, about others and about "how the world works" more than any other single thing affect our happiness, motivation and effectiveness in life. Our beliefs are like roadmaps that we use to navigate life with. If any of our beliefs in any area of our life are vague, incomplete or flawed the harder we try to follow them the less effective we will be in increasing happiness, motivation and results in that area. Stphen Covey who wrote the best selling book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People deeply understood this. He put it this way. "If you want minor change change your attitude. If you want major change change your beliefs." The great thing is that our beliefs are a choice and with effort over time we can change negative self beliefs and strengthen positive ones. The results of doing this are amazing.

Here is a list of 20 important beliefs that can shape a person’s happiness, motivation, and empowerment. Each limiting belief is followed by a corresponding positive and empowering belief. These are ordered by importance in terms of their impact on happiness, motivation, and effectiveness in life.' As you read them think about how having the limiting or empowering belief would change anyone's life, their sense of self confidence, the goals they set etc. The empowering beliefs I treat are from significant research in Positive Psychology

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Transforming Limiting Beliefs into Empowering Beliefs

Limiting Belief: “Happiness is mostly about pleasure."

Empowering Belief: “Pleasure is part of happiness but deep happiness is more about having a aense of meaning in life and a sense of purpose and the determination to continue having a daily growth and self-development mindset..”

Limiting Belief: “Happiness depends on my circumstances.”

Empowering Belief: “Happiness is something I cultivate from within, regardless of circumstances.”

Limiting Belief: “I’m not good enough to achieve my dreams.”

Empowering Belief: “I have the ability to grow, learn, and develop into the person who can achieve my dreams.”

Limiting Belief: “I can’t change; this is just the way I am.”

Empowering Belief: “I am always capable of growth, change, and improvement.”

Limiting Belief: “Past failure is proof that I’m not capable.”

Empowering Belief: “Winners fail a lot because they set more goals and more challenging goals but they don't see failure as a measure of their not being capable of winning. They learn from it and forget it and come back even more determined to win. Failure is a necessary stepping stone to success.”

Limiting Belief: “Other people’s opinions determine my worth.”

Empowering Belief: “My self- worth comes from within, not from external validation.”

Limiting Belief: “I don’t have control over my thoughts and emotions.”

Empowering Belief: “I can train my mind to focus on what empowers and uplifts me instead of letting my mind control me.”

Limiting Belief: “I have to be perfect to be worthy of love and success.”

Empowering Belief: “I am worthy of love and success as I am, while always striving to grow. I can be vulnerable and not have to put on the image of perfection. The right people will love me for who I am."

Limiting Belief: “I have to do everything on my own.”

Empowering Belief: “Seeking support and collaboration makes me stronger, not weaker. All very happy and effective people uderstand the power of both getting and giving support. It is what creates deep bonds of human connection and enables us to go way beyond where we would go on our own.”

Limiting Belief: “Success is only for certain types of people.”

Empowering Belief: “Success is available to anyone willing to learn, persist, and take action. Successful people exhibnit a wide range of personality types.

Limiting Belief: “I don’t have time to focus on my personal happiness.”

Empowering Belief: Taking small consistent steps toward any major goal is the surest way to achieve it.

Limiting Belief: “Other people are lucky; I’m not.”

Empowering Belief: “Success and happiness come from effort, persistence, and the mindset I choose. Henry Ford the founder of Ford Motor Company put it this way "If you believe you can or believe you can't, you're right.” Changing out self beliefs is the foundation of achieving anything we want.

Limiting Belief: “I should wait for motivation before taking action.”

Empowering Belief: “Action creates motivation; I can take the first step no matter how I feel.” First set goals in writing that are so meaningful to you that you wake up excited about working toward them. Second read your goals ever day especially when you are having a "bad" day or feel less than motivated. Winners know that working toward their goals even when they don;t feel like it is essential and increasingly being able to do this gets easier and easier. The highest achievers have developed the abiloity to love seeing if they can push themselves a little harder when the going gets rough- like a trained and motivated athlete. Of course hard work has to be balanced with enjoying family, friends and doing things you enjoy.

Limiting Belief: “Money is the key to happiness.”

Empowering Belief: “Research shows that omnce a certain level of financial security has been reached there is very little increase in happiness by becoming significantly richer alone. The happiest weathy people are those who found a career they really love and determined to excel at. The greatest wealthy people are those who see money as a means to help others, society and the planet. Meaningful relationships, growth, and purpose bring true happiness, while money is just a tool.”

Limiting Belief: “I can’t be happy unless everything in my life is going well.”

Empowering Belief: “I can find joy and meaning even in imperfect circumstances if I am determine never to give up. The greatest people in history all have faced times of severe tribulation and it was what they choose to think and do at those moments that determined their future.”

Limiting Belief: “It’s too late for me to change my life.”

Empowering Belief: “Every moment is a new opportunity to change my direction. The world is full of late bloomers.”

Limiting Belief: “I need to avoid discomfort and challenges.”

Empowering Belief: “Challenges help me grow and develop resilience. Without facing them I can never become strong. We can develop the state of life in realizing this that we even call up challenges through setting higher and more meaningfiul goals.”

Limiting Belief: “I must please everyone to be valued.”

Empowering Belief: “I am valuable as I am, and I honor my own needs and boundaries. Unless you pelase yourself you will never peease anyone else. If you have to give up on your own uniquenwss or youe own goals and dreams for example in a relationship it is not the relationship for you.”

Limiting Belief: “Happiness is something I’ll achieve in the future.”

Empowering Belief: “Success is to me not something we ever arrive at since successful people are always setting more and more and higher and higher goals. But happiness is something I create today, in this moment working on my goals and self development and being a daily happiness learner.”

Limiting Belief: “I’m not responsible for my own happiness.”

Empowering Belief: “I have the power to shape my happiness and fulfillment through my mindset and actions. I may not be responsible for everything that happens to me but I am responsible for how I choose to react to it”

The belief transformation process is one of the most powerful tools for creating a happier, more motivated, and more empowered life. The key is to actively challenge limiting beliefs and practice reinforcing empowering beliefs daily. Here are some great ways to do that

How to change self limiting beliefs

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Identifying and transforming self-limiting beliefs into empowering ones is a crucial step in personal growth and achieving success. Here’s a practical process to help with this transformation:

1. Recognizing Self-Limiting Beliefs

Self-limiting beliefs are negative thoughts or assumptions that hold us back. They often start with phrases like:

• "I can’t…"

• "I’m not good enough to…"

• "I don’t deserve…"

• "It’s too late for me to…"

• "I always fail at…"

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Steps to Identify Them:

• Pay Attention to Your Inner Dialogue: Notice negative thoughts, especially in challenging situations.

• Look for Recurring Patterns: What are the excuses or fears that keep coming up?

• Examine Your Fears: What are you afraid will happen if you take a bold step?

• Check for Generalized Statements: Phrases like "I always" or "I never" signal limiting beliefs.

• Assess the Origins: Ask yourself, "Where did this belief come from?" It may stem from childhood, societal messages, or past failures.

Example:Self-limiting belief: "I’m just not good at speaking in public."

1/ be motivated to change them.. Realize that beliefs are the difference that makes the difference in anyone's life.

2/ study the beliefs of very happy, motivated and empowered people and find ways to make them part of your life day by day. This is a significant part of the daily happiness, motivation and empowerment process we teach you in this program.

2. Questioning and Challenging the Belief

Once you identify a limiting belief, challenge it by asking:

• Is this belief absolutely true?

• What evidence do I have for and against it?

• Has anyone in a similar situation overcome this?

• What would I say to a friend who believed this about themselves?

Example:Challenge: "Is it really true that I’m not good at speaking in public? Have I ever had a time when I spoke well? Have I improved over time?"

3. Reframing the Belief into an Empowering One

Take the limiting belief and turn it into a more positive, action-oriented belief.

• Use empowering language: Change “I can’t” into “I am learning to…”

• Make it specific and actionable: Focus on growth rather than a fixed state.

• Turn it into a daily affirmation: Reinforce your new belief by repeating it.

Example:Limiting Belief → "I’m not good at public speaking."Empowering Belief → "With practice, I am becoming a confident public speaker."

4. Taking Small, Consistent Actions to Reinforce the New Belief

Changing beliefs requires proof through action. Build confidence by taking small steps:

• Seek out learning opportunities (books, courses, mentors).

• Practice in low-stakes situations (record yourself, speak in small groups).

• Acknowledge small successes (celebrate progress, not just perfection).

• Surround yourself with positive influences (people who support your growth).

Example:

• Sign up for a local speaking class.

• Record short videos of yourself presenting ideas.

• Watch successful speakers and learn techniques.

5. Reinforce with Visualization and Positive Self-Talk

• Visualize your success daily. Imagine yourself succeeding in the area where you had a limiting belief.

• Adopt new self-talk habits. Replace negative self-talk with empowering statements.

• Keep a success journal. Write down wins, big or small, to reinforce progress.

6. Repeat and Strengthen the New Belief

• Stay consistent. The more you act on your new belief, the more natural it becomes.

• Be patient with yourself. Changing deeply ingrained beliefs takes time.

• Adjust when needed. If a limiting belief resurfaces, reapply the process.

Example of the Whole Process in Action

Limiting Belief: "I’ll never be financially successful because I wasn’t born into money."Challenge: "Is that really true? Have others in my situation built wealth?"Reframe: "I can learn and apply financial literacy to improve my financial situation."Action: Start reading financial books, saving, and investing.Reinforce: Journal daily wins and visualize financial stability.

Would you like this formatted as an exercise for your journaling manual?