I’d like to start with a verse Psalms 139:13, ‘For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. ‘
What I feel that this verse really means is that we are ALL part of God’s plan and that we all have been given a purpose.
If you know me you know that I FIRMLY believe that we were all created for a purpose and that everything in life happens for a reason.
Yes, even the limiting beliefs that we have.
Those are there for a reason too.
But before we get too deep into those limiting beliefs. Let’s talk about what a limiting belief is.
But…..
Before we do that let me just say this. If this topic scares you a little bit, that’s ok. Talking about limiting beliefs and especially mine scares the HECK out of me.
So if it’s all right, for this devotional I would really like to get personal and vulnerable with you. All that I ask is that you don’t laugh TOO loud at me. (notice I didn’t ask you not to laugh at me, lol)
Anyways……
Back to the topic at hand.
What is a limiting belief?
Well, my definition of a limiting belief is anything that you personally believe that is holding you back.
Tony Robbins says that limiting beliefs are the stories we tell ourselves about who we are that hold us back from becoming who we are meant to be. These beliefs limit us from reaching our full potential.
Personally like his definition a little better than mine.
One example of a limiting belief that used to have was that I am not good at reading.
I was told throughout my school career that I was a slow reader and that I wasn’t good at it by several teachers and LOTS of kids in my classes.
So I adopted that limiting belief, and lived by it.
From 3rd grade all the way through graduation I never read a complete book, except for 2 Tim Allen books (Don’t Stand Too Close To A Naked Man & I’m Not Really Here). I did hundreds of book reports and participated in class discussions, but never actually read the books.
Shhhh. Don’t tell my English teachers or parents, lol
I actually held onto this limiting belief until I was well into my 20s. I would say I was probably 27ish when I finally broke this belief.
As a kid, I loved staying at Grandma Greer’s house (even though it was only a ½ mile away from my house) because at night she would read a book to us to go to bed.
I wanted to adopt that with my kids. So I started reading to them at night. Jenna helped me pick a book that the kids and I would like, then I started reading it to them every night I was home.
I would read for about 20-30 minutes a night.
At first, I was scared to death to read out loud because I might not get the words right. but I quickly realized that I was the only one who could see the words. The kids were in bed so they couldn’t correct me.
So, when I messed up on a word I powered through it like I knew what I was talking about.
Before long I wasn’t messing up on any of the words. And in about 3 months of reading every single night, I started telling myself, “hey you are good at reading.”
It was about that time that I discovered that I LOVE to read books.
Now I listen to and read about 50 books this year alone.
The other day I was talking to my dad and we got on the topic of books and how many I read this year. And I discovered one of his limiting beliefs.
When I said that I read 48 books so far and was in the middle of another one. He asked, did you read them or listen to them?
My immediate thought was, “WHO CARES????????”
Do you see his limiting belief?
You can’t listen to a book. You MUST read it from a physical book format to get the knowledge out of it.
The thing with limiting beliefs is that they can haunt you for a long time. And the truth of the matter is that they usually aren’t really true. Like at all!!!
It’s just a made-up story that Satan helps us craft so that we limit ourselves from the full potential that God wants and NEEDS us to achieve to be ultimately successful.
I could do a whole book on limiting beliefs and how to break them. (Heck who knows maybe I will someday?!?!?!) But for today I really want you to KNOW that God created us all for a purpose. It is our duty to do our best to live up to that purpose.
Time To Take Action
This one is going to be a little tougher.
Are you ready for it?
First off I would like you to go and listen to my podcast “Leading From The Middle Of The Pack” There is an episode that I recently released on Limiting Beliefs. That I think would be very beneficial for you to listen to.
Check it out here https://eclipse-dot.com/podcast/
Second I would like to take a few moments to write your answers down for the following.
What are 3 of my most limiting beliefs?
What are the negative consequences that each belief has caused me so far in my life?
How has each belief affected my life negatively by having them?
What have I missed out on by accepting each of these beliefs?
What is the WORST consequence that could happen if I keep each belief in my life?
What Belief Do I Want to replace each of these with?
This is going to be deep….
But I know that you can do it.
And just to prove that you can do it, here is mine.
Some of my most limiting beliefs are?
- I am not good enough
- I will never try hard to be enough. I will fail because I never actually will. My business will fail, my relationships will struggle, and I will stop growing. I will lose my faith because I will Sight God. The stress of not having enough. Having a hard time paying bills
- I have missed out on amazing relationships. Success earlier in life and financial freedom
- Losing my relationship with Jenna
- I don’t deserve to be happy
- My relationships will fail along with my business and faith. Cause my entire life to collapse on itself.
- Ultimately it will cost me everything. Jenna could leave me, my kids could lose faith in me. I could lose everything.
- Losing my relationship with Jenna
- I don’t deserve success
- I will stop trying to win. I will not grow or try to grow. I will lose sight of what is really important not only to me but also to my family, business, and clients.
- It has cost me true wealth. Not $$ but wealth. Being able to invest in what I want when I want and the growth of my company. It has also put stress on my marriage.
- Losing my company
- I can’t celebrate my wins
- I will stop winning because I don’t feel like it is a win. I will stop trying to get better and will allow others to pass me up in life and business
- This belief hurts everyone in my life. At home, I come across as not happy or ever satisfied. I accomplish a goal and then move directly into the next one without stopping to acknowledge how good I just did. This could cause me to ruin my business marriage and relationship with God.
- Losing my relationship with Jenna
- I will look dumb if I share where I am or am not business-wise with my peers
- I will not be able to get help from anyone because no one will be able to help me grow to the next stage. I have to stop putting on a face and move forward into that next step of opening up and letting others know where I am.
- My entire business could collapse
What are the new beliefs I am replacing the old ones with
- I am always enough to everyone and God Built me to Succeed
- I deserve to be happy and blessed
- I require success
- I celebrate my wins with such confidence that Noone can contain me
- God love me and want me to succeed
- God needs me to celebrate my wins
- God wants me to charge so that others can coach me
- God wants me to know that I am enough. He wants me to succeed, be happy, win, share, and celebrate.
