What are self-sabotage limiting beliefs?

Do you have a good opinion of yourself? If you were to honestly say “ Yes I really like myself and I feel I have many great attributes” then you would undoubtedly think highly of yourself and be doing well in your world.

What if you have the opinion you are awful, no one likes you and you pretty much suck at everything in life, you would be saddled with highly toxic self-limiting beliefs and would probably not be doing as well as you could be.

These kinds of beliefs could cause you to self-sabotage everything you do in your life. But what exactly are self-sabotaging beliefs?

Self-sabotaging beliefs are the ideas you hold about yourself and your ability to do things.

Many of the beliefs you have that are not serving you, will be ones you have carried around for most of your life. When you were young you would have listened to parents, teachers, peers and other influential people in your life at the time and believed everything they told you about yourself, whether good or bad.

Often they would have been, off the cuff throw-away remarks, said not to harm but without really thinking. An exasperated mother could have said to you” Oh don’t do that you are so stupid” without thinking of the harm these words would inflict years later. You could have gone through all of your life repeating these words to yourself, believing you are stupid and never trying to achieve anything.

These self-limiting beliefs you will have carried around with you will have prevented you from doing so much in your life.

What are negative beliefs about self-worth?

Negative self-limiting beliefs are like having a little enemy living inside your mind always saying awful things to you. The problem with this little voice is you will tend to believe it so even if another person says the exact opposite, you still believe the enemy within.

You will know those negative limiting beliefs the ones such as, “ You’ll fail”, “You’re ugly”, “Everyone else is more popular than you”.

These negative beliefs begin to stack up like a brick wall around you so after time you are imprisoned inside your own limiting beliefs. They will fill you with limitations, lack of self-respect and no ambition.

This is why you need to break down that wall of limiting beliefs and start being the person you are meant to be. Everyone has had self-limiting beliefs at some time or another in their lives, the successful people are the ones who have eradicated them.

If you want to start breaking down your self-limiting beliefs wall then you need to follow the tips below on 17 of the biggest, limiting beliefs and what to believe instead.

17 Limiting Beliefs

1. I don't deserve good things in my life

Why don’t you deserve good things in your life? What is so different about you to everybody else who has an amazing life full of good things? On close examination, the answer will be nothing, except the way they think about themselves.

You absolutely deserve good things in your life. You need to remember all of the good you put out into the Universe and the value you bring to other people. Start telling yourself all the amazing things you deserve and why.

2. I am too old to change my ways

This is a self-limiting belief so many people tell themselves, they are too old to change their ways. It’s a crazy theory because so many people have achieved amazing things at different stages of their lives.

For example, Henry Ford was 45 before he invented the Model T car in 1908. Imagine if he had believed he was too old to change his behaviour.

You are never too old to change your ways and do something different. Age is just a number not a state of being.

3. I don't have the time to do that

That old chestnut people repeat time and again, “I don’t have time to do that.”. You don’t find the time you make the time. If you really want to do something and achieve more in life you need to make the time to make a change, it is the only way it is going to happen. Stop making excuses and start making the time.

4. I don't have the money to achieve that

So many people put off doing things in life because they feel they don’t have the money to do it.

How do you know until you try? What if there was a cheaper alternative? What if someone lent you the money until you were successful?

Don’t let the lack of money prevent you from reaching your goals, do them despite the lack of money.

Imagine how much more satisfying it will be.

5. I am not a person people can love

What this statement means is that you don’t love yourself and you can’t see why other people would love you. But this is what you need to remember, other people will view you from their eyes, not yours. They will see all of the loveable traits you have, all of the amazing reasons to love you. If you saw yourself from their eyes you would have a different opinion of yourself.

6. I don’t have the self-discipline to achieve that

Self-discipline is a trait you can acquire. While many people will have self-discipline as a value they hold dear, many other people learn to become self-disciplined by setting themselves goals they long for.

You can achieve anything you want in life if it really matters to you.

Start by setting small goals you know you will be able to achieve and the success of these will spur you on to greater goals, improving your self-discipline as you go.

7. I don’t have the innate talent to achieve that

Who knows what amazing talents they have until they first attempt something? Elvis Presley was told by a music teacher that “he had no aptitude for singing”, imagine if he had listened, one of the world’s greatest singers would never have recorded anything!

Don’t tell yourself you haven’t got a certain talent or can’t do a certain thing until you have at least tried. People who suffer from imposter syndrome can often believe they don’t have the talent to do something and will be found out by others. Eradicating this belief will enable you to see the talents you do have.

8. I shouldn’t follow my dreams because I might not achieve them

This statement is the simplest way to live a life of failure than anything else.

You won’t achieve ANYTHING if you don’t try. You should always follow your dreams because you never know how amazing you will be at something until you give it a go.

If one dream doesn’t succeed, maybe it’s because it wasn’t meant to be, it shouldn’t stop you from trying again.

9. I don’t have the necessary experience

Nobody is born with experience, everyone has to learn things.

Yes, some people are born with an innate ability that comes out when they try something, such as an amazing musician or painter but most people become good at something because they practice time and again until they acquire enough experience.

Once you understand this, you should be able to switch your mind to the belief that you can do something once you have practised and gained the experience.

10. Being successful and affluent are not goals I should aspire to

Why shouldn’t you aspire to be successful and affluent? What sets you apart from other successful and affluent people? Everyone is deserving of great things and you are no different. Everyone should want to have their best life, to have money, success and adventure. To be able to live a life free of worry, stress and poverty. There is enough abundance in the world for everyone…….you included!

11. I won't be able to fulfil my dreams

You never know what you are capable of until you try.

Who knows if they can climb Mount Everest, run a marathon or write a best-selling novel until they try?

You can be or do anything you set your mind to. If you don’t fulfil one dream try something else. Until you try, you will never know!

12. Being happy will always elude me

This is a statement so many people believe. This will only be the case if you continue living your life as you are living it now. You need to break bad habits, set up new routines and look at your life differently. Closely examine why you aren’t happy. Are you in the wrong job, in the wrong relationship, living in the wrong town or unhappy about your physical appearance? You can change all of these circumstances if you set new goals and plan how you want your life to look. Happiness is a state of mind, you can choose to be happy it’s up to you.

13. I don’t have the ability to change things

You CAN change anything you set your mind to if you set your mind to it. Think about the things that are good in your life.

Did you have any control over them? Of course you did. You can make changes at any time in your life, you just need to set a plan and put it into action.

You are the only one who will set limitations in your life.

Even if someone else told you you couldn’t do something, you don’t have to believe them Believe in yourself and your abilities.

14. I am not physically attractive

Now not everyone is going to look like a supermodel, that is an absolute fact of life. There are very few people in the world who are blessed physically in that way. That doesn’t mean to say if you aren’t Kate Moss you are ugly. Beauty as they say is in the eye of the beholder. Most people’s beauty comes from the inside. Think of how someone’s face changes when they smile, how beautiful they can look.

Everyone has a beauty about them, even if it isn’t universally accepted. Beauty comes in many forms and everyone sees something different to find beautiful.

15. This is just who I am I can’t change

Anyone can change at any time if they truly want to. This statement just means you don’t want to change and you can’t be bothered to try and be someone else.

Apathy in life is what holds most people back. The resistance to make any changes because it seems too hard, too time-consuming or will take too much energy.

If you want change you have to be the change.

16. I am not clever enough to achieve that

Telling yourself you aren’t clever enough to do something is a simple way of never trying to do something. Until you try you will never know. Placing these assumptions about yourself is an easy way to avoid trying anything difficult in life and it is unfortunately a reason why most people never achieve great things. They limit themselves before they even begin.

17. I can’t be my authentic self

You can be whoever you want to be. If you have belief in yourself are happy with the person you are and show yourself love and understanding you will never care what another person thinks of you…then you can be your true, authentic self.

Don’t let other people influence who you are, be your own person, and stick to your values and beliefs.

The people who love and respect you will walk with you on your journey through life and those who don’t will fall away.

Stay true to yourself and your life will be happy, enriched and fulfilled.

Final Thoughts

Mastering self-limiting beliefs often requires you to move out of your comfort zone and try something new. This can be a scary place but the more you stay there the easier it will become. As your confidence grows and your limiting beliefs wane, you can stretch yourself more and more.

Limiting beliefs will keep you stuck in a place. If you want to grow and flourish, you will have to learn to combat them.

The first step is owning up to the limiting thoughts you have. Over time, these limiting beliefs will become less and less if you can learn to change your mindset.

Working with a life coach can help you change how you think and work through self-limiting beliefs.

They will help you understand why you are thinking the way you do and give you the tools you need to make the changes necessary in your life. You are worthy of so much in your life, never forget that, the only limits in your life are the ones you place on it.

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