Eliminate limiting beliefs

I need to remember that God’s will has factored in every mistake I ever have and ever will make. Therefore I can regret my mistakes but without treating them like it’s the end of the world and that everything depends on me. This is stinkin thinkin as the saying goes.

Now this isn’t always the case, but often times when there is something that I HAVE to get done I am subconsciously thinking that it is just something I have to get through if I want to get on with enjoying life. But when I was doing the dishes today, I reminded myself that dishes are a part of my life so why not make it enjoyable? I could listen to music, light a scented candle, or simply enjoy the warm soapy water and stop looking at it as a chore. I want to make it a top priority to really embrace all of my duties and to stop rushing through them thinking that life is on the other side. THIS is my life- even the most difficult parts.

So when it comes to little everyday chores I certainly should start seeking to appreciate all that can be enjoyed about the activity and start enjoying and appreciating ALL of my life- not just the relaxing, unchallenging parts. And besides, are those parts really the best of life? My body may like to take it easy but my mind and soul would find a life of leisure a very sad existence. This revelation may have something to do with my 1 word resolution for 2012 which is GRATEFULNESS. I must become grateful for every moment of life by remembering that there is more to life than being free from work but rather work is a part of life and should therefore be enjoyed.

I was just cheered on this goal and it got me thinking… this is one of those goals that catches my eye when I go through my list and it always gets me excited! Looking at other posts I realize that this goal might mean something different to me than some other posters because I am not speaking about anything religion oriented since I am happy and fulfilled in that regard. For me this goal is rather about the assumptions I may have about myself, others and my life in general. It is an invitation to never jump to conclusions about anyone- including me. I used to like to take personality profile tests but now I think they just end up putting labels on you which limits how you see yourself, your abilities, and your options for the future. Seriously, do we really need a test to tell us what we are good at? Why can’t we just sit down and reflect on who we know ourselves to be? People get so excited when they get the results back and they say to themselves, ” Oh I knew I was that way!” But who do we think answered the questions, lol!

In fact, I know a young lady who took one of those tests who is now convinced she is an introvert when really she has just been sheltered and needs a little practice around new people to be her naturally bubbly, silly, friendly self that she is around those she knows well. It doesn’t matter that I have known her since she was a kid- the online test knows her best of course ;) This is even effecting what sort of job she thinks she can handle when in the long run just knowing her, I think she is going to end up running in the opposite direction.

I know she will eventually figure things out (she only just turned 18) but it has really taught me something important. We all tend to do this sort of labeling sometimes even though we’d be so much better off to see ourselves as having strengths and weaknesses, keeping in mind that we can always work on transforming those weaknesses into strengths overtime if we’d only put in a little effort. I never want to fall into the “That’s just the way I am” excuse ever again. I want to look at myself as a work in progress where anything is possible.

So I was looking at a website that talked about eliminating limiting beliefs. The blogger spoke of one of her limiting beliefs which was that she thought of herself as a rather boring person. So her solution was to say affirmations to counteract her limiting belief, such as “I am a very interesting and dynamic person.” Then she would look for evidence for this in her everyday life to back up this new idea.
Now,the only problem with this is what if she really IS boring? Then she is only convincing herself otherwise to soothe her ego. Wouldn’t it be better to instead take a good hard look at ourselves to see whether a negative belief has any truth to it and if so actually DO something to improve ourselves? If of course we find that we are being unnecessarily hard on ourselves then I can see how the positive affirmations might help… anyway, just a thought :)
Though, I did appreciate the idea of writing down on a piece of paper all the things you think are contributing to a particular problem in your life. Then you can go back and analyze your answers to see if there are any false limiting beliefs that are getting in your way. I think I will try this…