If limiting belief systems are preventing us from taking action how can we change them? There are several steps involved in dismantling a negative belief system, let’s go through them one by one.
If we have adopted a limiting belief system we have probably done so out of fear. If past efforts have yielded painful results we may feel safer doing nothing. The desire for safety and security has a powerful effect on our willingness to take action. When action represents risk and inaction represents safety, our built-in desire for security will severely limit our ability to take action.
Belief Systems Moving away from fear
One way to move away from this mindset is to realize that our past does not equal our future. If we examine why past efforts did not lead to our intended result, we will likely discover that our approach was not as well thought-out as we may have believed. Did we skip or minimize essential steps? Did we fail to prepare before taking action? Did we truly understand what was needed?
The more we question our previous performance the more likely we are to discover the source of our disappointing results. This will change our internal focus away from fear and toward identifying the problem and finding a solution.
There is a tendency to follow our beliefs without questioning them, but asking questions about a belief system creates doubt. Once we introduced doubt into the equation, a negative belief system loses much of its emotional power and becomes subject to reason. This helps us to see the need to make adjustments and to reevaluate our approach.
Linking to discomfort
Another effective dismantling tool for a negative belief system is to link it to pain. What have been the long-term results of your limiting belief system? Have you suffered emotionally, financially or in some other way by clinging to negative beliefs? If you can identify ways that your old belief system caused you pain in the past and will likely cause you pain in the future, you will be motivated to move away from it. The more your mind associates pain with your old belief system the easier it will be to change.
Now that this old belief system is cloaked in doubt and pain, it is time to create a new one. At this point you will want to change, change will come to represent pleasure, and you are now ready to move toward pleasure and away from pain. Even though doubt and pain are negative emotions, by attaching them to an unwanted belief system they have become useful success tools.
A life spent in the pursuit of personal excellence will, from time to time, encounter disappointing results. The way we view those results and our ability to extract valuable lessons from them will have an enormous impact on our level of success. Coming next, Belief Systems – Part 4
Belief Systems – Part 1
Belief Systems – Part 2
Belief Systems – Part 4.
