The Mother of All Sabotaging Beliefs

“You are enough, you are so enough, it’s unbelievable how enough you are.” ~Sierra Boggess

Last week I shared three common negative thoughts that frequently emerge when someone is pushing outside their comfort zone, facing a challenge, or struggling in some way. But quite honestly, none of them would likely crop up if they weren’t rooted in the mother of all sabotaging beliefs.

What is that belief? Well think about it for a second and then read on…

The mother of all sabotaging beliefs is: “I am not good enough!”

Yep, if you dig deep into your negative thoughts, odds are high you will find most limiting beliefs and fears are rooted in the assumption that in some way, shape or form, you are not good enough to handle whatever it is you are facing.

Don’t believe me? Try this little exercise the next time you find negative thoughts popping up in your head… If you ask the question “why” after your thought, what would be your answer?

Now the initial answer might not sound exactly like “I’m not enough”. But ask it again about the answer you get, and you will eventually find that at the root, in some form, is a fear of “not enough”.

Take any of our statements from last week: It’s going to be hard, I can’t do it, or I’m going to fail. And ask the question WHY after each. The answer that would eventually emerge would be rooted in a belief that you are lacking or not enough in some way.

So, let’s just say that the initial answer you get from asking why about any of the above statements is: Because I don’t know how to do this. That is a form of “not enough” (i.e., not knowledgeable enough). Which could be true. Maybe you really don’t know how to do it. That’s okay. When pushing outside of the comfort zone, that’s bound to happen. It’s new and unknown territory. But what isn’t okay is getting stuck in the belief that it’ll be hard; you can’t do it, or you will fail because you are not enough.

Instead, if you will approach whatever it is you are facing with a belief that you are enough, you can change your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors almost instantly. Allowing you to flip the disempowering beliefs into empowered questions that will direct your mind to seek solution. A question like, “What do I need to know or learn to make this easier, figure this out or succeed?” would take your brain into a much more productive solution mode instead of stuck in the problem or the limiting beliefs and fear.  

Oh, and by the way, more times than not, you actually do know how to do it. The fear is just blocking your brain from giving you the solutions. Keeping you stuck in the limiting belief and not allowing you to move forward.

Quick Review:

Be aware and notice when your thoughts have turned negative, odds are they are deeply rooted in a belief that you are not enough. Believe you are enough.

Flip the disempowering thoughts into an empowered question. Shifting your focus from the problem to seeking solutions. Believe you are enough.

Take action to achieve your goals and dreams. Believe you are enough.

What is the simple but extraordinarily powerful solution here? Believe you are enough. Write it down. Say it. Repeat it over and over. YOU ARE ENOUGH.

Every time you get into a thought pattern of negative limiting beliefs, remember, you are enough. And let that be the shift that bridges the gap between problems, struggles or challenges to the solutions and actions that will help you create your own success.

There is still time to commit to a New Years resolution. One I might recommend is to is to read more consistently. If you want to commit to this check out the Heroic Wisdom Daily where you will get one small lessons on a new high performance book every day.