"If You Think You Can, or Cannot - Either Way You Are Right" Henry Ford

Any Limiting Beliefs Holding You Back? ​

As Henry Ford so wisely stated: "If you think you can, or cannot - either way you are right".
In other words if you think and therefore believe something to be true, then it is your truth.

• If you believe you cannot do something... you cannot and most probably will not even try, or try to find a way, to do it.
• If you believe you can figure something out ... you will find a way.
  
  

Your beliefs can be negative or positive, therefore limit or empower you.

If you are not quite 'the person you want to be', then it pays off to find out if it is a thought (belief) holding you back.

The thought could be anything from 'I do not know how', 'I do not have any support', 'I do not know where to start', 'I am uncertain about this,' etc.

Beliefs are thought patterns, evaluations, opinions, judgments and generalizations  you hold about yourself, and others. These beliefs can stem back to your early formative childhood years and have been stored there in your unconscious mind ever since. They can also be from experiences as a teenager, young adult or adult. Experiences with your parents, relatives, siblings, teachers, friends, social environment, from traumas, media influence or repetitive experiences add to the collection of information that forms these beliefs, be it negative or positive.

The eyes see but it is the mind tells you what you see

The first law of perception is that the eyes see but it is the mind that tells you what you see. One of the reasons your mind tells us what we see, or perceive, is that the underlying beliefs tend to make you look for certain things.
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For example a cynic will see what he or she is looking for just as much as an optimist will see what he or she is looking for.
Each chooses their experience from their beliefs. When you believe something to be true naturally you act as if it is. You bring on what you expect.
(Think Placebo effect) If you continually act in ways that support negative beliefs, negative events tend to materialize. People are like magnets you attract what you believe.

To unlock your potential and be the person you know you are replace any limiting beliefs with positive, empowering ones.

Change takes time, repetition and patience 

Holding on to limiting behaviour patterns ensures that your potential cannot be reached. When you believe you can... you find the way forward, one small step at a time. Once you are 'wired' with positive, empowering beliefs you automatically set goals yo can achieve and therefore be successful in reaching them.

Empowering beliefs encourage growth,  lead to change and a happier and more successful,fulfilling life.

Take stock of your thinking in patterns.

• Make a mental note of what thought keeps cropping up whenever you are struggling with something.
• Look into whether this thought is in your best interest, make the decision to change it and commit to this decision.
• Find the best way forward to reframe/replace this limiting thought. Think in terms of getting the virus out of the software!
• Seek support if you are struggling.
• Know that 'If you believe you can or cannot - you are right!'
  
  

As an example: if you find 'I do not know how' keeps cropping up. Stop yourself, sit down and start thinking in terms of 'If I did know how, what would I be doing differently?' That is a good start to slowly changing from 'I do not know how' to 'I can figure this out'...

I find any self-sabotage routines I work on with my clients are usually being 'fed' by a limiting belief. We explore, examine and dismantle the belief in order to stop the self-sabotage routine. It is truly empowering to get rid of a bad thinking pattern, especially one that is no longer relevant to the present moment.

by Suzie Doscher 
Professional Coach focusing on Personal Development, Executive Coach, Life Coaching, Self-help author of 
BALANCE - A practical handbook for life's difficult moments.​​​