When you’re growing up, you come across situations that you don’t always understand but that create limiting thoughts in different areas of your life. They might be related to money, gender stereotypes, or directly concerned with yourself. However, what they have in common is that they sabotage your efforts.

We all have limiting thoughts that prevent us from fulfilling some of our dreams. The good news is that you can eliminate them by adopting the right attitude and by following a few simple steps. It’s time to take control.

“We are what we do, especially what we do to change who we are.”

-Eduardo Galeano-

1. Identify your limiting thoughts

The first step is to find out what idea is holding you back. To do this, you’ll have to thoroughly analyze everything you believe until you find that unfounded thought. The thought that, although it may seem completely true to you, is just a lie that you’ve created in your head.

Take a pencil and paper and write down all the ideas that seem completely true to you and that define you as a person. Once you have the complete list, analyze it:

• What ideas govern your life?
• How does each of these ideas affect your relationships?
• Are they limiting or pushing you forward?

“If you accept a limiting belief, it will become a truth for you.”

-Louise Hay-

Be open to all the information you discover. This exercise doesn’t seek to judge you, but to help you understand what it is that’s governing and limiting your life.

2. Don’t compare yourself

Do you tend to compare yourself to others and believe that you can’t achieve the same as them? As a matter of fact, when you compare yourself to someone, you damage your confidence and end up feeling inferior. Indeed, the problem with always comparing yourself to others is that you focus all your energy on what you don’t have. We all have flaws and weaknesses. However, we also all possess qualities that make us unique and valuable.

It’s normal to make comparisons. Nevertheless, you should never belittle your potential just because you think someone else is better at something than you. There’ll always be others with more experience, knowledge, or skills. At the same time, you’re also superior to some others. In fact, when you start to realize that you’re a person with abilities that make you successful in your own right, those limiting thoughts will disappear

“When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.”

-Confucius-

3. Leave the past behind

We’ve all made mistakes in our lives. However, we don’t all interpret them in the same way. In fact, mistakes and failures don’t tell who you are today or what you’ll do tomorrow. Nevertheless, unfortunately, many people believe otherwise.

“Accept your past without regrets, handle your present with confidence, and face your future without fear.”

-Anonymous-

These people let the past become the basis for limiting thoughts that undermine their future. However, the future is created with each passing second. Therefore, you should identify the mistakes you’ve made, analyze them, and start writing your future today.

4. Take action and challenge your limiting thoughts

The best way to show yourself that limiting thoughts are unfounded is to challenge them. For example, do you think that you’re too fat to exercise? Walk half an hour every day. Do you think it’s too late to start a business? Just do it. No matter what your limiting thought is, challenge it!

Limiting thoughts generate fear, anxiety, and unhappiness. They make you feel like you’re doing the wrong thing. Consequently, you’ll want to stop trying something within a minute of starting it.

“Love casts out fear and, conversely, fear casts out love. And not only love. Fear also casts out intelligence, casts out  goodness, casts out all thought of beauty and truth.”

-Aldous Huxley-

Instead of allowing your thoughts to stop you, step over them. Little by little you’ll feel more secure and ready to carry on. As you progress, you’ll be gaining power and you’ll start to truly believe the fact that you’re in control of your life.

Don’t Let Destructive Thoughts Limit You