If you’re reading this, it means that something about ‘limiting beliefs’ piqued your interest. Maybe you’re currently experiencing one yourself, or perhaps it’s that you’ve heard this term thrown around as a ‘buzzword’ in the online space.
Either way, welcome – and let me assure you that every person experiences limiting beliefs in some shape or form (or will experience them) in their lifetime.
Because we’re all human.
This post will tell you exactly what limiting beliefs are and how they can be playing into your creative business. I’ll share some of my own experiences with you, of course, but together we’ll really look forward as to how you can overcome limiting beliefs when they come into you and your creative business.
As creatives, our businesses are so ingrained into our lives, inner creativity, and innate being. When we’re experiencing a limiting belief, that’s likely playing into our business as well.
What are Self- Limiting Beliefs?
A belief is a feeling of certainty about what something means. Simply put, limiting beliefs are beliefs that are limiting us from who and what we really and truly are and want to be. They’re typically deeply ingrained into us from an experience (or series of experiences) from a young age. Sometimes, they’re rooted in the beliefs our parents either advertently or inadvertently instilled into us (even with the purpose of love!)
There are three core types of limiting beliefs:
- Limiting beliefs about ourselves (meaning that we believe we can’t do something because we think we are missing something within ourselves to do so)
- About the world (we believe we can’t do something because no one else will allow us to)
- Limiting beliefs about life (we believe we can’t do something because it’s too difficult)
Common Self- Limiting Beliefs for Creatives
I can speak from experience that some very common limiting beliefs that many creative entrepreneurs experience regularly. Tell me if any of these ring true for you…
- I have to be constantly working to be successful
- My work is not unique enough
- Countless other people are doing what I do – why would anyone work with me?
- I have to be sitting at my computer all day/ working all day for it to have been a real workday
- It’s really rare to be wealthy and successful from creative work
- I can’t be rich and be a good/ creative/ worthy person
- My creativity defines me and my worth
- My worth is determined by my income/ creations
These are just a few of the common limiting beliefs that myself and other creative entrepreneurs I’ve either coached, worked with, or am friends with, have experienced. This is by no means an exhaustive list.
I also don’t share these to pile on the hurt and pain – because I understand how painful these beliefs can be. I share these to raise awareness which is the first step to overcoming limiting beliefs in your creative business!
Awareness is Awesome
You’re already doing the work when you’ve raised your awareness and can recognize a limiting belief you’ve been carrying with you. Honestly, this is a win worth celebrating (I know I encourage my clients to do so after we raise awareness around a limiting belief that’s been disempowering them for years!)
And it’s genuinely the first step to overcoming the limiting belief.
We need to be able to recognize and stare the limiting belief right in the face to
- Recognize that it’s actually actively disempowering us
- Recognize whether it’s based in reality
After you’ve raised the awareness about the belief, you can recognize the consequences of having this belief.
What’s this Limiting Belief Costing You?
Once you’ve raised your awareness and can recognize the limiting belief for what it is, consider what holding onto (and letting go) of this belief will cost you. For example, if you’ve believed for your entire life that you’re only worthy if you’re productive, some of the costs of maintaining that belief could be
- Continuing to feel low and anxious
- Working more hours than necessary just to feel ‘productive.’
- Aiming to please and satisfy others, rather than focusing on what makes you feel good
On the contrary, if you were to release that belief, you could:
- Release the associated anxiety that comes along with it
- Trust that you are always enough, no matter how much gets done in the day or doesn’t get done!
- Lean more into what makes you happy
Replacing The Limiting Belief With an Empowering Affirmation
The thing with letting go and releasing a limiting belief is that it’s something you’ve held onto for a long time. For some reason, you developed that belief to keep you feeling safe and secure. Your brain won’t want to immediately just let this go! We need to replace that limiting belief with a more empowering affirmation to tell ourselves!
When you craft your affirmation, aim to make it something that is:
- Empowering
- Realistic and Attainable (example: if you’re afraid of public speaking, creating an affirmation that you’re an award-winning TedTalk speaker may feel like too much of a stretch. This doesn’t mean you can’t do it! I would just suggest working up to this with smaller steps first, like “I share my voice to empower myself and others.”)
- Believable, Yet Challenging (We want to have our affirmation be realistic and believable, as I explained above. But it still needs to push us… to drive us.)
For more on affirmations, check out this post!
Practice, My Friend
With this type of work, it will take practice, repetition, and trust for the process. This isn’t something you can do, recite a new affirmation and feel completely different overnight. This is work that must be undertaken with intention and trust of the process.
Place your affirmation (or affirmations) wherever you’ll see it regularly throughout your day, such as…
- Your coffee maker or teapot
- Your bathroom mirror
- Beside your bed where you’ll see it first thing when you wake up
- On your desk or computer screen
- Inside one of your pantry cupboards, you open daily
- Inside your planner or journal
If you would like a guide to help you work through limiting beliefs or something else that’s standing between you and your dreams for your creative business, I’d love to support you.
Overcome Limiting Beliefs With The Help of Journaling…
Journaling allows you to… * Rewire limiting habitual ways of being * Give spotlight to your intuition’s voice * Provide a solstice of self-care * and develop a resilient mindset These prompts are here to guide you when you need to dig deep into your own resilience and self-love.
Other Posts You’ll Love:
7 Healthy & Productive Habits For a More Positive Mindset
How a Mindset Coach Supports You as a Creative Entrepreneur
8 Powerful Mindset Tools That Will Change Your Life
5 Self-Care Tips For When You’re Burnt Out
How to Deal with Imposter Syndrome as a Creative
The Healing Crystals I Use In My Creative Business
5 Ways To Practice Self Care When Anxiety Hits
28 Life + Mindset Lessons for Creative Entrepreneurs
5 Reasons Why Your Mindset is Your Most Powerful Tool
Self Care Ideas – For When You Need Them As An Entrepreneur!
