Happiness 3. Where’s your evidence?
by Una Hearne.
Continuing with simple practices to change your mindset, this one is about questioning your limiting beliefs.
This is not about trying to live in a fantasy world where you believe in candy floss clouds and unicorns, although your welcome to if it helps. I’m talking here about believing the truth. Your truth. Taking your limiting beliefs and really examining them to see if they are true.
If you are not sure what a limiting belief is or which ones you have, finish the following sentences. Don’t think too much just note the first things that come to mind. Answer them a few times, you’ll probably find a few limiting (or negative) beliefs pop out.
I always / never…
I should / shouldn’t…
I can’t / must…
I a terrible…
Most people harbour a few common nasties such as ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I always screw up’, ‘I’m unlovable’, etc.
Now for the fun bit. Look for actual evidence. For and against. Put in as much effort as you would if you were helping your best friend with this exercise. Ask yourself these questions for each one – Really? Always? Who told you this? List all the times this belief was not true.
Simply shaking your beliefs by questioning them can start the process of changing them permanently in your mind. You can change any belief, no matter how long you have believed it by using the replacement method I set out last November in this blog: https://unahearne.com/unas-little-world-45-you-cant-criticise-yourself-confident/
Write out the empowering and true belief you would rather hold and set about programming your brain with that, by repetition. Exactly the same way the limiting belief got programmed in. Here’s the key thing, your subconscious accepts your beliefs and goes about all the time looking for evidence to support those beliefs. It has been busy gathering evidence for the limiting belief for years. Now you are giving it a new belief and as you repeat it your subconscious will busy itself gathering evidence for it instead. This creates permanent change in your brain over time as you build new pathways in your physical brain.
As you know I only suggest things I have tried myself and that have worked for me. What works for one person will not necessarily work for another. I invite you to try it out and see what happens for you. 🙂
Pic credit: bluebudgie. Found on pixabay
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