This week as so many conversations turn to our freedoms and rights and the courageous people who fought — and continue to fight — to make sure we get to keep them, it occurs to me that so many are still imprisoned. Stuck in their own limiting beliefs. In thought patterns that sabotage their own success.
There is a way out of this limiting self-sabotage and it starts right now when you give up the griping and blaming. When you become accepting and accountable for all that is in your life. This is the true route to freedom.
When we spend time complaining about the external crap — the crazy mini-van driver who cut us off, the slow poke in the check out line, the husband who doesn’t wipe off the counter (maybe that’s just me) we wear ourselves out. It’s a form of self-sabotage that sucks our energy out and takes our intention and intellect away from doing the things that inspire us – the things that keep us on purpose.
You can worry all you want about the bank account that never seems to fill or the dark jeans that never seem to fit, or the argument that never gets resolved – but you know it’s all about YOU. Right? The challenges we have are not outside ourselves – they are within us.
Knowing that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll stop the shoe-shopping-ice-cream-eating behavior that ultimately shows up as a form of self-sabotage, because while we think one thing we live by the beliefs that have settled in to our subconscious. We may think something consciously – “I deserve this promotion” — but the subconscious beliefs, that usually direct our behavior are screaming “don’t be a stupid head, you can’t do this job.” It’s not true of course, a thought is not reality. But when we start acting as though it is true, we convince our bodies and spirits and brains and a limiting belief takes root.
This week then, take a look at the areas of your life that are humming and also observe those that are less than bueno. What’s working? What could be better? Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t blame, just observe. Experience. Become aware. And pinpoint the beliefs you that have kept you from where you wanted to go. From here we’ll begin to unwind those strings of tangled beliefs.
For example, I was raised with the belief that you could have Money or Happiness – you couldn’t have both at the same time. So, I went with happiness and I am happy and — I’m watching every dime. Because of my beliefs about money every time I got close to big money, my subconscious reminded me with a taser-like effectiveness that cash and happiness cannot co-exist. While I’ve always had enough money to pay my bills and cover my costs, I’ve never reached a level where I wasn’t eager to return the pop cans. Now I know better though. I’ve uncovered the bones of that belief, I know it’s baloney and I’ve begun working to clear it out (this can be easier than you think) and to replace it with a new shinier model. I mean really, who says you have to pick. I can be happy and financially abundant. I’m going after it.
And you can too. Identify some of those deep beliefs – the things sticking like super glue to your psyche — cross-examine them. When you discover that they are truly just a figment of your imagination, you can work on letting them go. Then, you will be truly free.
