Limiting Beliefs Imprison Your Mind

People often come in to my NLP & hypnotherapy office for very specific habit and behavioral changes. “I want to quit smoking!” “I want to stay away from the sugar!” "I want to sleep better." And so on. We can do that. However, in the course of doing that, we do more. We change larger mind sets and ways of thinking about self and the world by removing limiting beliefs.

What is a limiting belief? It’s an idea/feeling about self and the world that gets lodged in the brain that limits a person. It limits their full expression and enjoyment of life. Examples of some limiting beliefs: “I’m not good enough.” “I can’t do it.” “I’m not worthy.” “No one could love me.” “I’m a victim in the world.” These are not truths about anyone. These are simply ideas, that can and should change.

Here’s an analogy. Imagine getting a rock caught in your shoe. It makes walking difficult. It hurts! You COULD continue to walk with it in there, and suffer more. But why? Why not take your shoe off for a moment, and shake it out! Put your shoe back on and life is immediately more comfortable. Suddenly you can go places, and it’s easy.

A person might wonder: why is that rock in the shoe, how did it get there? My answer: It doesn't matter. Let's do the work now to remove it. And it's easy to do that. Other therapies, conscious-mind focused therapies are all about discovering the WHY of a problem. Analyzing it to death. In NLP Neuro Linguistic Programming we don't need that information to create successful change. "Why?" is non-essential information. A structural approach (involving HOW, not why, the problem exists) makes success faster, minutes to achieve permanent change, rather than years.

Beliefs are the framework within which behavior manifests. Or doesn't. Remember Henry Ford, the automaker? He said: "If you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right!" This is true. "I can't do it" leads to fear, avoidance, inconsistency, etc. with an end result of not doing it, whatever it is. "I can do it" fuels confidence, energy, motivation, and so on. The beliefs we hold impact feelings, inner vision, inner dialog, and our behaviors in the world.

A person’s limiting beliefs are probably the most nasty, destructive things I encounter in my NLP and hypnotherapy help work. They negatively impact every aspect of a person’s life, from personal and business relationships, to financial success, to health, learning, and so on! This is precisely why I love helping a person to remove them so much. Limiting beliefs are garbage, and they belong in the trash heap! That’s an essential part of the work we do–put them there.

Removing limiting beliefs quickly is possible with Neuro Linguistic Programming, and specifically, with the process I've developed called "Designer Beliefs" (tm). These changes are the REAL changes, the power changes. The behaviorial changes (I lost weight or I quit smoking) are really a lesser deal. They are simply a byproduct of new empowered beliefs.