Dealing with Bad Beliefs... A checklist.

Do you believe in yourself?
Have you given up on your dreams?
Can you remember a time when you truly believed you could achieve “it”... but that time seems like a distant memory?

I have come to understand that if you believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything. However, believing in yourself can be challenging.

Think of one negative or undesirable belief you have about yourself (i.e. I eat too much. I’m afraid of failure. I’m weak, tired, broken. I’m just like my father.) Got one? (I know it’s probably hard, but just keep it in mind as you read on.) Now, I want you to try to remember where you were or what the circumstances were surrounding you when you first adopted that belief about yourself (i.e. My mom told me I always ate too much at birthday parties when I was 6...or I got fired when I was in my twenties because I’m not good with people...etc.)

Words spoken by others,  past experiences, a traumatic event life event, or simply a lack of knowledge can all shape the way we believe about ourselves. Whatever the reason for your belief, you have to ability to change it. This is a powerful truth!

Here’s a quick checklist you can go through when you find yourself believing something you want to change:

Forgive. Yourself. Your parents. Your friend. Your dog. Whatever and whomever you need to, do it. Forgive. Choose to let it go so you can be free to fly to new heights.

Accept. You are not always in control of what happens in life, but you always have choices. You can dig your heels in and whine and complain about how you wish things were different or you can get up, take a deep breath and be a problem solver. Only the latter benefits you in your journey.

Recognize the truth. The thing about truth is that it’s yours. It was yours when you were developing beliefs as a child, and it’s yours today to choose if you will continue to allow those beliefs to live. Find the bigger truth. There is a delicate dance here as you acknowledge truth from your past without diminishing it, and choosing to find your innocence or your contribution to that belief... Then, letting go of any shame that may surround it. This should be an empowering process, not a condemning one.

And here we go! We are no longer running or hiding from our past. It doesn’t mean you’ll never think of that bad belief again, but this time you’ve got it’s “calling card.” You know where it began and why you thought it. You have and are continuing to choose forgiveness and acceptance of what is. And now you know you have the power to see the greatest truth about it: it’s bad. From here, we practice a few practical steps in solidifying the death of that no-longer-needed negative mindset such as shaping our thoughts, words, and community. You have the ability to transform weak, negative beliefs about yourself into strong, positive mindsets that can create a new way of approaching life.

If you want to go deeper on this subject checkout my “Belief Course.” I dive into every part of the process with you and provide the tools to change what you believe.

You can and should believe in yourself. Start today by using forgiveness, acceptance and recognition as your launching pad.