How to Let Go of Your Limiting Beliefs
By Sean McCool

Limiting beliefs have more of a negative impact on your life than any other factor. They are pervasive and affect our lives in so many ways — and none of them are good.

They come from a variety of sources, as well as from the way we see the world around us. Humans can't help but learn, but sometimes we learn things that aren’t quite the way we think they are.

Imagine replacing a limiting belief with one that makes life easier and enables you to be more successful. How would you feel? How would you act? What would you have? Who would you be?

If you can let go of the limiting beliefs you possess, your life — and your level of copywriting success — would forever change for the better.

First, we need to ask the question:

What is a limiting belief?

A limiting belief is one that causes life to be less than completely satisfying.

Limiting beliefs are those beliefs that stop you from having, being, or doing what you want to have, be, or do.

Consider this … If all of your beliefs were 100% accurate, you would be able to have, be, or do nearly anything you've ever really wanted.

But, before we can talk about letting them go, let’s take a look at five ways limiting beliefs are holding you back right now:

#1 — Limiting Beliefs Sabotage the Proven Process of Success.

One of the main ways that limiting beliefs hold us back is they short-circuit the success process.

What is the success process?

Well, there are entire books and courses written on the subject so let me share an abbreviated version. This is what I’ve discovered works in my life and when working with others. In short, the success process can be boiled down to four proven steps:

So the question is: How do limiting beliefs sabotage this process?

Well, if you have a limiting belief, you might stumble on Step 2. Why? Because most people won't take an action they think is doomed to fail. We think to ourselves: “Why bother?” Well, this is exactly how limiting beliefs sabotage us — they stop us before we ever get started.

Another problem that shows up is that people are unable to complete Step 4. Most of us decide too quickly that something won't work. As soon as you believe it won't work, you're unlikely to continue trying.

Have you ever looked at the list of writers who are now huge successes, but couldn’t get anyone to take them seriously in the beginning? It’s a who’s who of writers.

How many times will your current beliefs stand up to rejection?

Achieving big things usually requires time and effort. Frequently, that effort needs to be an intelligent and calculated effort, as opposed to the lower-your-head-and-plow-ahead type of effort. It takes time and experience to put forth the proper effort. You simply can't do this with a limiting belief in the way.

Besides sabotaging the success process, limiting beliefs hold you back in other ways too, such as:

#2 — Limiting Beliefs Taint Your Experience of Living.

You will do fewer things over the course of your life when you’re constricted by your limiting beliefs.

For instance, if you believe roller coasters are dangerous, then you won’t ride them, and you’ll miss out on the thrill so many others experience.

You also limit serendipity in your life. And for writers, serendipity holds immense insight, inspiration, and opportunity.

Imagine what your life would be like without any limiting beliefs. Surely a fuller, richer life is more appealing to you, yes?

No matter how great your life is right now, you are holding on to beliefs that stop you from experiencing the fullness of life. We all are.

#3 — Limiting Beliefs Can Cause You to Unintentionally Harm Those Around You.

Beliefs are more like a virus and less like math because beliefs are caught more than they are taught.

Even with the best of intentions, you infect others with your limiting beliefs, and those beliefs then affect them the rest of their lives.

Who are you infecting, and how is that affecting them and their potential to live their best life?

#4 — Limiting Beliefs Hold You Back from Growing Fully as a Human Being.

It can be useful to view life as a training ground where the purpose is to:

If you could do those three things, what kind of life would you have lived over the course of your lifetime?

What path are you on right now?

Where are you holding yourself back?

Where are your beliefs keeping others from experiencing your gifts?

#5 — Limiting Beliefs Make You Inefficient.

Limiting beliefs cause us to find an alternate path, if we look for one at all. If we don't believe the best route will work for us, we spend a lot of time following a less direct path in an effort to work around our limiting belief.

For me, I’ve known since high school I wanted to be a writer, and I wanted to teach people. At the time, I didn’t know about copywriting or life coaching, but I didn’t really believe I could make a living as a writer or teacher. So I did everything but those things.

Why? Because I had limiting beliefs around those careers. Unfortunately, there was no one in my life at the time to help me challenge my beliefs.

Save yourself some time and deal with the limiting beliefs holding you back in your life and in your quest for copywriting success, instead of waiting or giving up on what you know you really want.

If you can let go of the five most limiting beliefs holding you back right now, your life will change for the better, forever.

You don't take my word for it though … try and see for yourself.

If you’re ready, follow this seven-step process to banish a limiting belief:

Step #1 — Question the belief.

Ask yourself the following three questions:

• Do I really know that this is true?
• Have I experienced this myself enough times to be confident that it is true? (Keep in mind: You can't accurately draw conclusions from a limited number of experiences.)
• Do I really know that this belief is true, without a shred of doubt?

These are powerful questions when answered honestly. Do not underestimate or skip this step. It is vital to your ability to create a new life without limits.

Step #2 — Dig Deeper.

Where did you come up with this belief?

For example, did your limiting belief about money come from your mom? Was your mom a wealthy person? If she wasn't at that time, then she's not a reliable source of information. After all, an expert on money would be able to have a lot of it.

If someone hasn't had a lot of money, then they don't really know how to accumulate it or what it means to have it. Consider whether or not the source of your belief is a valid source.

Your beliefs should come from your own personal experiences and from the advice of experts. That's it. If your dad wasn't a great college student, you can find a better source of information about what it takes to be successful in college. You should consider suspect any other source of information.

Rely on experts. They are easy to find with a little research. After all, there's no reason to take stock tips from a homeless person.

Step #3 — Dethrone the Old Belief.

Simply state to yourself, "I choose not to believe this anymore. It's not true."

It might sound trite, but stating your intention has a profound effect.

Look for supporting evidence. Find some reasons and examples why this limiting belief is false. For example:

The person who told me this doesn’t really know.
I've never actually tried it for myself.
I've seen others that are less capable than me be successful at this.

At the very least, you should feel a sense of doubt about that limiting belief. If you don't, then keep coming up with more reasons. Get online and read some articles by someone you truly feel is an expert on the topic of your belief. Search for examples that the belief is false.

Now imagine, vividly and in writing, how much your life would change if you didn't have this belief in your life.

For instance, you could write a story or journal entry in present tense of today as if you never had that old belief.

Step #4 — Create a New Belief That Serves You.

This will be the opposite of the limiting belief, or at least something along those lines. Create a belief that will improve your life and support your ability to take action to make your life better.

Find examples to support this new belief. Any belief will be more stable if it has supporting information and evidence.

Research. Really try to prove that it's true. Imagine that you had to prove to someone else that your new belief is accurate. That should get you where you need to be.

Step #5 — Measure Yourself.

Each day, check yourself. How do you feel about your new belief? How do you feel about your old belief? Check your gut; it's a direct link to your subconscious.

Is your behavior changing?

If your beliefs change, the way you act and/or feel will change, too. Our lives and feelings are a manifestation of our beliefs. If your beliefs really have changed, your life will change as well.

Step #6 — Repeat.

Go back to your list of limiting beliefs. Keep working on your list of negative beliefs. Work through those items and continue to add new items to it.

You'll find that you'll discover new limiting beliefs as you start making progress on the old limiting beliefs.

As you experience new things, new limiting beliefs will show up. These are beliefs you didn't know you had until this point.

As you set new goals, new challenges will present themselves. As you learn and experience more, your objectives change, so the limiting beliefs you have will change, too.

For instance, maybe you’ll decide 10 years from now that you want to be a doctor; any limiting beliefs you have about being a doctor would then have to be addressed.

For me, it was to go from broke with $26 in my pocket to handyman. Then from handyman to copywriter. Then from copywriter to advising companies and 7-figure business owners on copy and strategy. I even spent a year running a full-service direct response marketing agency. Oh, and I also have a lucrative life coaching practice on the side.

In other words, this is a continual process. The better you get at it, the faster you can change or advance your life in the direction of your dreams.

Step #7 — Repeat the Repeat.

Continue examining your life for limiting beliefs and eliminate them. It’s like pulling weeds. No matter what you do, some weeds always pop up over time. Simply recognize them and get rid of them.

Repeat all the steps on a regular basis. As you set new goals or have new challenges in your life, repeat the process. It would be a great idea to sit down once a week and make a new list of limiting beliefs. You would be unstoppable.

So what? Why does all this matter, and is it worth the effort?

Yes, because limiting beliefs really do put our lives in a stranglehold. They can lead us to believe that we have limited options to deal with our challenges, or that we’re limited in doing new things.

These beliefs have profound negative consequences and letting go of them is one of the best things we can do for ourselves.

Our limiting beliefs come from a variety of sources: friends, family, teachers, neighbors, the media, and our own interpretation of the world and the events in our lives. In many cases, the source of the limiting belief truly had our best interests at heart. The people around us have a significant effect on us.

By examining those beliefs and asking ourselves some key questions, we can systematically let go of them. Unless we've experienced something numerous times, or we have the advice of an expert, we don't really have the knowledge to make accurate judgments about something. Be selective about whom you believe.

Installing a new empowering belief is similar to installing a limiting belief, except that the process has intention behind it. A new belief needs evidence to support it before it can be believed.

A new belief will leave clues in the form of new behaviors and different results.

Measuring yourself and your life is important. This measurement process is critical, both to see if the new belief is in place and if it is indeed an empowering belief.

By systematically going through all of your limiting beliefs, it’s possible to dramatically improve your life. Always remember that new limiting beliefs will occur over time, and it's important to check yourself for these new limiting beliefs.

Life can be relatively easy and simple. Deal with your mental obstacles, and you'll see those are the biggest obstacles you have.

Look at your limiting beliefs today — let them go — and your life will never be the same!

Are you ready to follow these seven steps? Tell us in the comments below what limiting beliefs you’re going to let go of.