How To Change Your Self-Limiting Beliefs With The “Rewrite The Belief’ Technique
We all tend to have some not-so-great beliefs. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. We pick up beliefs everywhere we go, and some of them happen to be limiting us. Limiting beliefs are beliefs that hold you back in some aspect of your life - whether it’s financially, physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.
It’s important to be aware of the limiting beliefs you may have so you can work to switch those around so they are empowering you instead of holding you back. A technique I like to follow to help uncover and rework those mindsets or beliefs is called “rewrite the belief.” And the name explains it all.
Here’s how to Rewrite the Belief in four easy steps.
Write the belief
What are your current self-limiting thoughts, feelings, and beliefs? Write down all of the ones that pop into your head, or start with one topic/category at a time. As I mentioned, these categories could be anything from finances, physical health, mental health, self-care, business, etc. Anything that you feel might be holding you back, even just a little bit, should be written down.
2. Identify where it’s coming from
It’s important to understand that all your beliefs come from somewhere or someone else. You pick them up on the daily. So, look at the beliefs you wrote down from step 1. When you first think or hear this thought, feeling, or belief, where is it coming from? Whose voice do you hear in your head? Your mom, dad, sister, brother, friends, coworkers, society? Write down where it came from next to each belief that you wrote down.
3. Give it a rating
Now, for each belief, rate it on a scale from 1 to 10 how much you actually believe it (1 being “not at all” and 10 being “I fully subscribe to this belief”). Be honest. Do you actually believe it yourself or do you only believe it because someone convinced you that you should?
We are always being subconsciously influenced by those around us and our environments. So it’s no wonder why we may pick up beliefs of others that may not be what we actually align with.
4. Rewrite the belief
Now that you’ve finished the identification process, it’s time to take action. Take each of your thoughts/beliefs that you don’t fully believe and rewrite them one by one. Write out the exact opposite of each statement or what you actually WANT to believe.
Then, use these statements to write yourself a “mantra.” Give each one a reason WHY you want to believe the new belief. Think about the benefits or how it would fit you and your life better. Refer to this whenever you need a reminder.
And there you go! The process itself is easy, but actually changing your beliefs won’t happen overnight. Just because you want to rewrite them and you follow these steps, it doesn’t mean that - *POOF* - you automatically believe this now. It’s an ongoing process of rewiring your brain to truly believe this. You constantly need to remind yourself of the reasoning behind your new beliefs. Why should you believe this new thing? It should benefit you or improve you in some way.
