I’ve worked with tonnes of business owners like you to help unlock the next level of success and over the years, I’ve observed a common theme: our childhood experiences often have a profound impact on the beliefs we carry into adulthood. These engrained beliefs can either empower us or limit our potential for success. If you want to unleash your true potential, but also do so in a way that isn’t aimed at the empty, shallow version of “success” and instead looks at providing fulfilment throughout life, it’s time to address the beliefs you developed as a child, that are holding you back and how to start conquering them.
Understanding the role of childhood in shaping beliefs
From a young age, our minds are like sponges, absorbing information and experiences from the world around us. Our upbringing, family dynamics, and early life experiences contribute significantly to the belief systems we carry into adulthood. These beliefs can manifest as self-limiting thoughts, holding us back from taking risks, embracing opportunities, or fulfilling our potential.
Identifying limiting beliefs
To break down the barriers that may be holding you back, it’s essential to first identify the limiting beliefs that stem from your childhood. Some common limiting beliefs include:
- Fear of failure or rejection
- Believing you’re not good enough or undeserving of success
- The need for external validation or approval
- Perfectionism and self-criticism
- Resistance to change and discomfort
The best way to start identifying your limiting beliefs, is – in a non-crazy way – to start talking to yourself. Sit down, have a chat with “little you” and understand what you were afraid of, what your parents were afraid of, what notions were drummed into you as a child and whether those fears and beliefs were appropriate then and now.
Once you identify the limiting beliefs that may be influencing your decisions and actions, you can begin the process of overcoming them.
Challenging limiting beliefs
Here are some effective strategies to help you challenge and overcome the limiting beliefs that may be holding you back from entrepreneurial success:
1. Reflect on the origin of your beliefs. Consider the experiences or people in your childhood that may have contributed to the formation of your limiting beliefs. Understanding the root cause of these beliefs can help you detach from them and recognize that they don’t define your potential.
2. Reframe negative thoughts. Replace negative self-talk with empowering and constructive thoughts. When imposter syndrome or thoughts and fears about not being good enough start to creep into your inner narrative, stop. Think about the evidence; what have you achieved and not achieved? Are any parts of those voices ACTUALLY true? What do the results of the past tell you about yourself and your experiences?
3. Surround yourself with objectivity. It is all too easy to drown under the weight of your own belief barriers. Employing people to give you objective feedback or help you navigate your own emotions by pulling you out of them for a while, can be one of the most helpful tools to your progress. Whether it’s coaches, mentors or simply surrounding yourself with peers who are happy to stay above your emotions and help ground you when you need it, surround yourself with honest objectivity to help you navigate which of your fears are real and which stem from old belief and behaviour barriers.
4. Embrace discomfort and failure. Understand that failure is a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey. By embracing discomfort and learning from your setbacks, you’ll build resilience and develop the grit needed for long-term success. You also learn what not to do in the future – that can be more useful than only knowing what works!
5. Set achievable goals. Break down your aspirations into smaller, achievable milestones. This will help build your confidence and reinforce the idea that you are capable of reaching your goals. This goes back to the point about reframing your negative thoughts by backing them up with cold hard evidence. Eventually, over time, when you’ve been grafting for long enough, there will be too much evidence to the contrary to let you believe you are not capable or worthy of a process or outcome.
Consistently practice self-awareness and growth.
Overcoming limiting beliefs is an ongoing process that requires consistent self-awareness and a commitment to personal growth. Regularly assess your thought patterns and beliefs, seeking opportunities for growth and self-improvement. As you progress, you’ll find yourself better equipped to tackle challenges and embrace the opportunities that come your way as an entrepreneur or business owner.
These belief and behaviour barriers aren’t going to disappear overnight and the new experiences you encounter can help overcome barriers but they can also build new ones. Continuous, regular, objective reflection with a third party can help nip these in the bud and help you continue on a positive trajectory.
If you want to identify the areas your barriers are preventing you from succeeding in, go ahead and take the Super Human scorecard and get to work on your brand new self-development plan today.