WHO AM I TO BE SUCCESSFUL?: HOW TO OVERCOME THE LIMITING BELIEFS THAT HOLD US BACK FROM THE SUCCESS WE DESERVE
If you’re an entrepreneur, chances are this has happened to you.
You thought of an idea - either a new business or a new service/product within that business - got lost in a whirlwind of passion, excitement and enthusiasm for how you’d bring it to life.
You spent hours mapping things out, creating a task list for all the steps you needed to take and had an excitable conversation with someone you love (who still doesn’t really ‘get’ what you do) about this awesome thing.
You couldn’t sleep, you forgot to eat - you were so engrossed in making your dream come to life.
But then you stopped.
You woke up one morning feeling less excited, less passionate.
Doubts started to creep in.
What ifs started to show up.
Overwhelm hit you like a ten tonne truck.
You started to make excuses. Avoided the to do list. Procrastinated.
Procrasti-cleaned. Procrasti-ate. Procrasti-Netflixed.
Deep down, you got scared.
Underneath that fear was the feeling of “Who am I to make this a success?”
We’ve all been there but what we’ve not all done is carry on regardless.
As a reforming Shiny Object Syndrome sufferer, I’ve been here. More times than not.
I get carried away by a new idea before I’ve finished completing another one and then overwhelm strikes which allows the bullshit beliefs of not being good enough to come up.
Since actively working to increase my confidence, self belief and trust in myself, I’ve created a system that helps me break down these lies we tell ourselves. Or in other words, limiting beliefs.
These lies/limiting beliefs are there to keep us small, to feed the fear so we don’t fail.
Because failure’s embarrassing right?
The process I use to break down these lies is called the Switch Your Story process. I use it with myself, my clients and now I want to share it with you, alongside an example of how to use it, using one of the common lies we tell ourselves to save us from failure.
SWITCH YOUR STORY
Step 1: Uncover the lie
Step 2: Rewrite the lie
Step 3: Create an action
Step 4: Reprogram your mind
Uncover the lie
First of all, we need to get to the bottom of why we’re feeling overwhelmed, have lost our motivation or what’s stopping us from moving forward. This may seem simple but I don’t see many people doing it (until they’ve learned this process of course).
Ask yourself:
“What’s stopping me right now?”
“What am I scared of?”
“What am I really feeling?”
Don’t think about the answers. Grab your journal and a pen and write whatever comes to mind. No judgement - this is key.
Look at what you’ve written and pick out the key issues that have come up. Read the example below for help doing this.
Rewrite the lie
Once you know what the lie is, you can rewrite it. This means literally turning it into the opposite.
If you’re telling yourself you don’t deserve success, rewrite it as you’re worthy of success.
If you’re telling yourself you don’t know what you’re doing, rewrite it as you always know the right thing to do.
This will feel uncomfortable. There may be some resistance. You might want to stop reading now.
But don’t.
This process has helped me overcome massive mental blocks that have lead to me signing new clients, writing articles like this and putting myself out there exactly as I am without worry about being judged.
Create an action
This is a practical step that will help prevent these feelings coming up in the first place.
Think about the lie that came up and the root of that lie. What is the recurring feeling and when does it show up most?
A lot of the time for me, my lie would be associated with not feeling confident enough so I started to think about the practical steps I could take on a daily basis to feel more confident. Things like getting dressed, wearing makeup, working from my desk instead of the sofa, playing my high vibe playlist before I start work - when you feel more confident, you have less limiting beliefs.
Again, read the example below for more support with this step.
Reprogram your mind
Consistent, daily action is the key to overcoming these limiting beliefs/lies.
With your re-written lie, condense it into one phrase that you can use as an affirmation.
Repeat this affirmation every single day.
You can do this in three ways:
Set a timer on your phone for 10 minutes, close your eyes and repeat the affirmation over and over until the timer goes off.
Repeat it in your head constantly throughout the day. When you’re working, washing up, in the shower - it doesn’t matter.
Write it out in your journal 50-100 times.
The more you repeat it, the more your subconscious mind will start to believe it and it’ll become your natural, go to belief.
If you’d like to learn more about how to use affirmations effectively and unlock 365 ready-to-use affirmations, check out my Affirmations hub here.
Let’s look at the process in action with a common limiting belief many of us as business owners have:
Who am I to be successful?
Uncover: I see other people doing stuff like this all the time with more of a following, more of a budget, a better brand etc etc. Why would people want to buy from me when there’s X person offering it too? Who am I to be successful when I’m nowhere near as good?
The lie here: I’m not good enough, I’m not popular enough, I’m not rich enough - I’m not enough.
Rewrite: The people who have a greater following than me have been in business for a longer time so there’s no reason I can’t get to that stage in two years time. I don’t need a large budget because I can market myself organically using social media. My brand just needs to be simple and consistent in order to make an impact. People want to buy from me because I have something no one else has - I am me. I am good enough to make this a success. I am popular enough to attract the right clients and I am smart enough to grow my audience. I am rich in knowledge and connections. I am enough.
Create an action: A lot of the not enoughness is caused by lack of confidence. To increase this confidence, think about the practical action you can take. I can sit up straight whilst I’m working to feel more powerfulI can wear my favourite outfits so I feel good about myselfI can spend extra time doing my hair so I feel comfortable being visible
Actions will vary from person to person, lie to lie. Think about what works for YOU.
Reprogram your mind: From the rewritten lie, the common theme is ‘not enough’, therefore I’m going to choose the affirmation “I am enough” and commit to repeating it for 10 minutes in the morning every day.
For more ways to work on your mindset daily, get my Mindset Work for Female Entrepreneurs workbook here.
Creating confidence, overcoming limiting beliefs and increasing self belief is an ongoing process. There’s no quick fix and at each new level, as you become more successful, you’ll find new mindset obstacles to overcome. This is how we grow.