A few days ago, I was listening to a podcast from Maddy Moon, a podcaster I’ve been a long time fan of (Check her out, she's amazing: http://maddymoon.com/show/ ). Maddy was talking about the subject of “limiting beliefs” and the importance of recognizing what our limiting beliefs are.

This got my gears grinding about what some of my limiting beliefs are, because I know I have a lot of them. Limiting beliefs are simply the stories that we are telling ourselves. It’s inherently innocent actions that we decide cannot be a part of our “identity.” They create anxiety when we have to question them and limit us from living our most courageous, fulfilling lives. It’s not morals or spiritual beliefs, but the stigma and taboos we attach to things. We define ourselves by these limiting beliefs and become convinced that it is against our identity to stray from them.

It’s the voice inside of you saying “I can only get things done in the morning” or “my family hasn’t pushed me therefore I can not achieve my dreams.” It's the voice in you saying "I'm too young" and "I don't have enough experience." All the same it's the voice telling you "I'm too old" and "it's too late."It’s the voice inside of you saying you are a victim of your circumstances and there’s no way around them. But what if I told you that it’s all completely arbitrary?

Here are some of my limiting beliefs I can think of on the spot, but my list is endless. Some seem so petty and non-trivial that it’s crazy to think about how much anxiety, questioning and valuable energy these little beliefs have caused me...

• “I’m a plain, black coffee person.” The story I am telling myself that I am a simple, sophisticated person who is slightly above others who indulge in fancy coffee everyday. It’s also me telling myself that I will not spend my money on fancy coffee when there are much more important things to save it for. It's a limiting belief of scarcity. As silly as it may sound, this limiting belief has caused me to place shame on myself when I do decide to indulge in a Americano or Pumpkin Spice Latte. Writing this, it seems so foolish that this is actually something that has taken up space in my mind and caused me stress.
• “I’m a morning person.” This is a common one. The story I’m telling myself here is that I’m only capable of getting things done in the morning. Although this could be true - I could really be more productive in the morning most of the time - it doesn’t mean that I always have to be. I think often time, I use this limiting belief to scape-goat getting things done at night. I also think I subconsciously tie a productive, forward thinking identity to "morning people" (probably the outcome of way too many 'morning-routine' stories.
• “I don’t get pedicures.” The story I'm telling myself here is that I'm not one of those pretentious people who spends their money on french tips and facials--wait, see! I just did it. "Those people" implies that there has to be an identity tied to the way people choose to pamper themselves, which is incredibly absurd when we think about it.
• “I eat healthy”/ “I listen to my body” I've been through a of experiences recognizing these little voices. The ones that remind you that you can't eat an ice cream because you're a "healthy" person. The ones that make you feel ashamed when you over-eat or stress out when you are hungry. The bottom line is that we live in abundance of food. That food will always be there and that we can have anything we want. That our identities and personality and friendships have nothing to do with the things we consume.
• “I have to pray/study/be in a certain place in order to do it fully.” This one is a common one for me in college. Often times I sit down in one place to study and tell myself that I'm not going to get anything done unless I go to another. It's an anxiety that is completely arbitrary and silly, yet it still affects me. I think to myself that I need to go to a nice, private, quiet place to pray or write. But the truth is that my inner peace and spirit should rely inside of me, no matter where I am.

Hopefully my limiting beliefs have helped you guys recognize some of the stories you're telling yourself. Everyone has them, and we can't blame ourselves. I think limiting beliefs are just another way we subconsciously try to connect things to make some sense of our crazy world. We're afraid of change, we're afraid to throw the things we're comfortable and familiar with out of the window.The important thing is that we’re trying. Maddy Moon explained how limiting beliefs are derived from our deeply-rooted(and irrational) fears of scarcity. Scarcity of money, scarcity of food, scarcity of safety, scarcity of time. By pin-pointing these things, we can realize how senseless these fears are, and how much abundance can flow from our lives when we let go of them.

So let's end the war with ourselves. Let's end the stories that hold up back. Let's recognize our limiting beliefs and see how nothing can hold us back from creating the lives we want.