Beliefs are powerful.
They shape your perceptions of the world and influence your decisions and actions. However, not all beliefs are equal.
Some beliefs empower you, while others hold you back. The latter ones, called limiting beliefs, are barriers that prevent you from flourishing.
Limiting beliefs can take many forms, such as “I’m not good enough”, “I don’t deserve this”, “I’ll never be successful”. These beliefs are often rooted in past experiences and it can be challenging to identify and change some of them, but they can have a profound impact on your life.
Limiting beliefs, combined with negative self-talk form a strong bond. I felt this myself and I’ve seen it happen with my clients.
This self-talk can be critical and negative, constantly reminding you of your flaws and foibles.
Negative self-talk can take many forms, including self-doubt, criticism, and unrealistic expectations.
For example, my negative self-talk used to come out when I made a mistake. I used to tell myself that I’m no good, exaggerated the importance of my mistake, ruminated, replayed it in my head and created alternative scenarios.
I’d think of what other people would say, and the anxiety was a real pain. The problem with negative self-talk is that it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When you believe you’re not good enough or that you’ll never succeed, you start to behave in ways that align with these beliefs. You avoid taking opportunities, limit your potential, and settle for less.
This cycle of negativity can be hard to break, but it is possible.
One of the key benefits of coaching is that it helps you identify and challenge your limiting beliefs.
As the coach, I will work with you to explore your thoughts and emotions, help you understand where your limiting beliefs are coming from and how they are impacting your life.
By exploring them, talking about them out loud and the evidence for and against them, you can begin to see that they are not fundamentally true and start to replace them with more empowering thoughts.
Another important aspect in coaching is accountability.
I will help you hold yourself accountable for your actions and help you stay focused on your goals, even when obstacles arise.
This can be especially helpful when it comes to limiting beliefs, as falling back into old patterns of thinking can happen. I will help you stay on track and remind you of the progress you have made.
Coaching can also help you find practical tools and strategies to overcome your limiting beliefs.
For example, you can practise self-command when you catch yourself thinking those beliefs, you can reframe negative thoughts or use visualization to help you see yourself succeeding. These tools and strategies can be extremely helpful in changing the way you think and feel about yourself.
And to make things more concrete, here are some examples of mindset changes that have happened and can happen through coaching with me:
- From feeling overwhelmed with work and fearing that the high volume of work will interfere with personal plans, to better planning and organising the work week, setting healthy boundaries and clearing one’s mind of tasks once the work day or week ends.
- From micromanagement, to explaining the “why” and trusting the team to do the right thing, asking open ended questions in team calls to discover more about team members and build trust.
- From reacting to things (emails, tasks) as they arise and not following a long-term plan, to defining a few strategic pillars, creating a long-term plan and choosing projects that align with it.
- From being too involved in projects and not leaving room for other people to make decisions and lead, to giving people space to lead, deliver projects and brainstorm ideas.
- From perfectionism and overthinking about what could go wrong, to being calmer and more prepared in the event something unexpected happens.
- From lack of motivation in the job, to redefining the important things that bring motivation and purpose, becoming more curious and open.
- From low levels of self-confidence, to taking on new challenges at work and speaking up.
- From struggling to focus and finish what was started, losing track of time and getting distracted, to behaving proactively and in a well determined direction, with clarity.
- From fear of uncertainty, to clarity around options to deal with the uncertainty and a more relaxed view of the future.
- From limiting beliefs around money, like “it’s hard to make money”, ”I can only earn if…”, to empowering beliefs like “The money I need comes my way as I follow my plan”.
And many more.
If you resonate with any of these, book a free 30 minute coffee chat with me and let’s discover how we can make your mindset your inner supporter.
