I mentioned limiting beliefs in my first article, where I set my intention for this blog space. You can read that here.
When discussing limiting beliefs, I want to focus on how they affect your business and business growth.
Let’s start with me.
Somewhere along the way, I decided that I was not a writer and had nothing new or worthwhile to say. But just because you have a thought doesn’t mean it’s true. Here it’s essential to run thoughts like these through a truth filter and question how the belief affects you and your ability to run your business.
When asking myself, is it true that I am not a writer? the absolute honest answer is I can write, I have written, and my writing is not awful. Asking myself, is it true that I have nothing new or worthwhile to say? my honest answer is I have thoughts and opinions. I have experiences that helped to form those thoughts and ideas. I’ve learned from every situation, and I’ve grown. And these experiences are worth sharing. I can shed light on many issues facing women in business.
So, these limiting beliefs around writing are not at all true.
Now, I ask myself, what impact do these beliefs have on the growth of my business? I know that if I’m not sharing my experiences, understanding, or knowledge, I am not allowing myself to be seen. If I’m not seen, I’m certainly not heard, and if I’m not heard, how do my ideal clients find me? How can they relate to me, trust me, and want to hear me or even work with me? If I’m not willing or able to put myself out there because of my limiting beliefs, my business stands alone, not growing, attracting, or engaging.
What do you believe about yourself that is not true and holding you back?
Maybe you think you’re not good with money, finances, and bookkeeping.
Perhaps you’ve let yourself believe that you’re too old to start a business or reinvent yourself.
Could it be that you’ve convinced yourself that you’re not enough, you’re not good enough at marketing, you’re not social enough, you’re not valuable enough? I know for sure that you must ask yourself, Are these beliefs true? Then determine what is true. What is the reality? Finally, is this belief serving you positively? Is it moving you forward in your business? Is it part of your business growth plan to have this belief?
What is true for you?
What are you capable of?
What can you do to grow the business?
If it’s entirely true that you cannot write or that you’re not good at finances, what action can you take to learn these skills or to find someone else to handle those areas of your business? Look at the possibilities. You can hire a writer. You can hire a bookkeeper. That way, you are not allowing your limiting beliefs to hold you back or paralyze you in position.
If these hires help you propel your business forward and keep from finding fault and blame in yourself, then that’s what needs to happen. As I have always said, we are not meant to work alone on our lives, passion, and purpose. Assistance, guidance, and collaboration are the keys to your success.
I also know that these limiting beliefs, whatever they are, create fear in us. They stir up negative self-talk: How could I? This isn’t going to work. I can’t. I’m afraid. I’m not enough. I don’t deserve this. Am I even on the right path? Once fear and gloomy self-talk arrive, self-doubt follows, and with it comes procrastination. And now we’re stuck, stuck in our heads, rooted in place, unable to make decisions, move forward, or see the truth. We’re nearly ready to give up.
The formula, again, is to ask yourself, are these thoughts true for me, and are they absolutely true? How are these thoughts serving me and the business? Then the ultimate question would be, “Are you brave? What would I do if I knew I was 100 percent worthy of this work, this business, whatever it is for you?
There needs to be a shift in how you approach decisions that need to be made when self-doubt creeps in. The shift is to focus on the possibilities of any given situation, not your issues, self-doubt, or self-talk. What if I hired a bookkeeper? Where could I put my energies? How would the day-to-day look for me? What more could I accomplish? How different would the business be?
Question your limiting beliefs!
Explore the possibilities, the what-ifs.
Lean away from the fear that rises up and into the brave thoughts that come after the words, what if.
What if I am 100% worthy of this?
What if I’m 100% wrong in this belief?
What if I got some help in this area?
What if I could free up some time to focus on another area that needs my attention?
What if this hire helped propel the business forward; how would that look?
It is always my greatest hope to move you forward with these words to help get you unstuck. Through words, I may even partner with you so that we can move forward together. Move toward all the possibilities of this beautiful path we’re on.
To dive deeper into this concept, read Loving What Is: Four Questions that Can Change Your Life by Byron Katie. This post is my very condensed take on these four thought-provoking questions and how I process my limiting beliefs.