Monday 9 August 2010

Limiting Beliefs – The Limiting Belief Buster and The Change Personal History Technique

Do you have a limiting belief that holds you back?

Our beliefs are at the core of who we are. Beliefs guide our decisions and behaviour in all areas of life. Unfortunately, some of our beliefs can be negative and can limit our choices in life. Some of our limiting beliefs may be based on what someone else has told us, and sometimes our beliefs were formed at an early age, which you have long since outgrown, but still blindly carry with us without question – what’s more, they can become self fulfilling prophecies whereby we go out of our way to prove our limiting beliefs to be right!

The Limiting Belief Destroyer Technique will help you destroy your limiting belief by changing the ‘submodalities’ of the limiting belief.

When practicing this technique use a small limiting belief first, then once you have mastered the technique and understand all the steps, you can then use the technique to destroy bigger limiting beliefs.



EXERCISE ONE – Exploring and Understanding Submodalities in order to Change Limiting Beliefs

Step 1:

Think of something you believe to be true, this can be a small thing like ‘I believe I can drive my car” or “I believe I am a loving father or mother”

When thinking of this belief, notice where the visualisation you instantly create is located – notice where in space that image is positioned. Is the image on the left or right side of your mind?

How near or far away is the image? What auditory sounds can you hear when you think of this belief? Do you say anything to yourself? What other sounds can you hear?

Be aware of what makes this belief real.



BREAK STATE

Step 2:

Now think of something that you are not sure is true or false - something you’re not really concerned about either way. For example “I believe my maths ability is better than your maths ability”

When thinking of this ‘unsure’ belief, notice where the visualisation you create is – Notice where in space that image is positioned, is the image on the left or right side of your mind?

How near or far away is the image? What auditory sounds can you hear when you think of this belief? Do you say anything to yourself? What other sounds can you hear?

Step 3: Testing!

Now you have the submodalities for both a strong and a weak belief. Take your strong belief and change the submodalities to that of the weak belief; if the weak belief image is far away push the strong belief image far away, etc. Once you have changed all the VAK submodalities, ask yourself “How do I feel about it now?”

If your strong belief is positive, return the original submodalities to the belief, as this exercise is just an example of how your beliefs are powered by their submodalities.

Take the weak belief and change it to the submodalities of the strong belief, how do you feel about this belief now?



EXERCISE Two – Change Personal History

Empowering Memory: Think about an empowering and positive memory that has an effect on your behaviour even today. This experience has taught you something about yourself - convinced you of a quality or talent you possess. These experiences often happen to us while we are at school, although they can also happened at any time during our lives. Bring the memory fully to your mind and relive the experience as if it is happening to you now.



Ordinary Memory: Think of an ordinary memory, a task you complete everyday that you don’t really think about or care about, for example taking your bin out or logging off your computer at work.



Checking the Submodalities: compare both memories, checking the ‘submodalities’ of both memories. Which memory is bigger, nearer or further away? Is one memory bright and the other dull? List all of the submodalities, both visual, auditory and kinsthetic.



Search for a “negative” imprinted experience: Think about a negative experience that has been imprinted into your mind. Think about the belief that resulted from it, that now effects your life in a way you don’t appreciate.

You can do this in 3 ways:



1. Think of an unpleasant experience that stands out strongly or was an unpleasant experience that was a turning point in your life.



2. Think of a generalisation or attitude you posses which get in your way! Use the associated feelings to search back through time to find the ‘imprint’ experience that formed it.



3. Think of a repetitive unpleasant feeling you have and use that feeling to search back through time to find the ‘imprint’ experience and the resulting conclusion.



Search for a positive imprinted experience: What positive imprint experience have you had recently that if you had the same experience before the negative experience, would have automatically allowed you to respond more resourcefully and interpreted the situation in a different and more positive way?

Look at the image of this positive imprinted memory and add it, in your minds eye, to the submodalities of the empowering memory.



Time Travel: In your mind, keeping your positive mental attitude, imagine floating up out of your body and above your timeline, travel back through time to a point before your negative imprinted experience, keeping your positive mental attitude.



Remain associated as you travel rapidly forward in time; see, hear and feel as the past events are re-evaluated and transformed by your positive mental attitude.

Do this fairly quickly allowing your unconscious mind to shift what happens, colouring your past with the new imprint.

Experience how past events including the negative experience imprint are instantly changed by your new positive mental attitude.

Repeat the process until the new belief and empowering submodalities stick.