New Paradigms Destroy Limiting Beliefs

Step 3 Of A Three Step Process To Uncover and Demolish Your Limiting Beliefs

by Jinny Ditzler


Step 3  How do I Stop Limiting Myself  (Click here to view Step 2)

So, once you’ve identified and become aware of the limiting paradigms and negative thoughts and feelings – and can really spot them when you hear and feel them – you’re ready for the third step.  Time to put your attention on what you want -- on creating and living your New Paradigm.  Really bringing it to life.

We’ve been through the first two steps of shifting paradigms.  If you haven’t already done so, choose the limiting paradigm you’re going to be shifting in order to generate a transformation in the goals you achieve and the way you live your life.



Now that you've completed the first two steps of shifting a paradigm, you can go to work creating a new way of perceiving and thinking that leads you to the results and relationships you want for yourself in the next year of your life.


Transformation is a fundamental change in the way you relate to who you are, what you do and what you have in your life.  When you create a shift in a limiting paradigm, you take charge of your life.

Whether limiting or empowering, the dynamic of paradigms is the same.   Once you understand and accept the dynamic of the self-fulfilling paradigm, you can use it to your advantage.


To write a new paradigm, look at the your current limiting paradigm.  What statement would describe a new perception that could destroy the old one? 

As you look at the following examples of limiting and empowering paradigms, you may feel that the empowering paradigms are too positive or simplistic.  Move past that thought.  Think about your limiting paradigm and what you’d like to make happen instead. 


Limiting Paradigm                              Empowering Paradigm
   
I’m lucky to have anybody                 I can have anyone I want.
   
I know best.                                       I enjoy learning from others and succeed far                                                             more quickly with their support.
 

I want more money but I’m not
worth any more than I’m making
now.                                                   Money is abundant and flows spontaneously     
   
I can’t do what I really want to do.    I empower myself to have what I want.
   
I’m not good enough.                        I have much to offer and I enjoy finding places to give.

Don’t put limits on what you want to create for yourself.  Decide what you want and write a statement that expresses it clearly.  How do you do that?  You make it up!

Your statement should express precisely what you want for yourself.  When you first write it, it may exist only on the intellectual level.  You have yet to experience its truth and you probably don’t own it mentally or emotionally.  But if it’s a stretch for you to think in the way your new paradigm suggests, you’re on the right track.

Notice the way in which the new paradigms above are worded.  Each meets the following criteria for an empowering paradigm:

•    Personal
•    Present tense
•    Positive
•    Powerfully stated
•    Pointing to an exciting new possibility

Once you have written your statement, make sure it’s exactly right for you.  Where does your new paradigm lead you?  Exactly what results will you have when it comes true?  Make sure the words express precisely the new reality you want to create.  Our paradigms create our results and our relationships.

Go beyond reasonableness and ordinary rationale.  Make a quantum leap in your thinking.  Allow yourself to think seriously about new possibilities and become enthusiastic about what could happen in your life.  Expect a few miracles.  Now that you have a new paradigm, you’ve given your garden its best dose of fertilizer. 

Imagine what’s going to happen to goals planted in soil nourished by this paradigm.  Albert Einstein thought that imagination is more important than knowledge. It’s time to stand apart from your limiting thoughts and feelings and replace them with ones that lead you in the direction you want to go.

Remember, this is the truth about you, it’s not just positive thinking.  As you read it, remind yourself This is a statement about Who I Am.  Your limiting paradigm is a reflection of the middle ring --- the doubts and fears.  A lie.  Your new paradigm is a statement of truth about you.  You are moving on from the limited historical view of yourself and getting back in touch with your true self.  Make sure that your new paradigm empowers you to achieve the goals you want for yourself in your best year yet.

Read your new paradigm over and over again.  Work with it until you can clearly imagine it being the new reality in your life.  What’s it going to look like?  How will you feel when that new reality starts to come into view?  Keep going until you arrive at a strong emotional experience that literally vibrates through your mind and body.  No kidding.  It’s exciting.  Now, I’m not talking some weird voodoo here.  You’ve had these feelings of elation and genuine enthusiasm before.  When you fell in love for the first time. When you got accepted into college.  When you got your first job.  When you finally started exercising.  When you closed your first big deal.  Those are the kind of thoughts and feelings I’m talking about.

Except this time you’re going to make them up BEFORE you have the experience.  Get the juices going yourself.  Be the source of your own experience.  Make it up.  Get in touch with what it’s going to be like and then feel the feelings that you’ll have when it happens.  When you do this, you’re creating the positive charge that draws the new experience to you.   Create your future – rather than reacting to the future that comes your way.

Is this difficult to do?  Yes.  Can you do it?  Yes!  Does it work?  You bet!

Use any technique you can to become aware of the voices as habitual and meaningless.  Devise something that enables you to distance yourself from what you hear and refocus yourself in a more positive (and realistic) way.  Catch yourself when you begin to indulge in these old beliefs.  The bad news is that the voices will probably never shut up.  Mine haven’t and I’ve yet to meet anyone who has gotten to this point.  But you can learn to let them go.  You can discover your own method of brushing away these old thoughts and feelings and focusing on the new reality you want to create.

One of my most effective mental tricks is to envision my head as a bird cage.  On one side of my head is the entrance, on the other the exit.  I see my thoughts as birds who enter the bird cage.  If they are limiting thoughts which don’t lead where I want to go, I make sure the exit is open and imagine these thoughts flying right back out again and disappearing into the air.  Unless I let these limiting thoughts fly, I’m in danger of this kind of bird to dinner, agreeing with what he says and thus feeding him until he gets so fat he can’t get out again.  Then I could start to believe that the bird’s limiting message is the truth and I’m hooked again.

Once you’ve become more and more aware of the negative focus at work give your thoughts and feelings something positive to focus on.  Keep reading your new paradigm – some people read theirs hundreds of times until the reality starts to take hold in an authentic way.  I once learned to look up every word in a dictionary so that I really owned the full meaning of my new paradigm.  Make lots of copies of the statement – on little post-its.  Stick them around where you’ll see them.

Remember my strongest limiting paradigm for this year:  I used to be a great writer, but I’m too old now.  The words just don’t come the way they used to – my brain just isn’t working the way it used to. And believe me I had tons of evidence that this was the absolute truth!  Still, I knew the drill so I went to work to create my new paradigm,

My creativity is more unique and inspiring than ever!

Every time I caught myself in the prison of writer’s block, created by the old paradigm, I would shift to my new paradigm, often spending time to imagine and get in touch with the real truth of the statement. It really wasn’t easy, but I did my best. 

And In the 8 months since I discovered and started shifting that limiting belief, the right results have been showing up:

1.    I had a surprise visit from my literary agent, who talked excitedly about the next books she wanted me to write.
2.    I easily wrote about 80% of the text for our brand new website.
3.    I learned to market and sell magazine articles
4.    I started a new weekly newsletter – and recently a blog

But the best part is that I’ve re-discovered my LOVE of the writing process and the way I look forward to facing yet another blank Word document!

You know, what learning to produce results is really about is becoming the person you really want to be.  Expressing fully the man or woman that you want people to be proud to know.  So, who are you anyway?  Are you really the person described by your limiting paradigms and thoughts?  No, you’re not, are you?

Learning the science and art of the paradigm shift is life’s greatest gift.  Learning to design and implement your new paradigm is the secret to taking charge of your own life rather than being guided by the invisible hand of a limiting paradigm.  What could be better?  I’m not saying it’s easy – I’ve found it to be the most challenging aspect of learning to produce results and it’s something that needs constant attention – but it’s worth every bit of effort it takes me.

Learning the science and art of the paradigm shift is life’s greatest gift.  Learning to design and implement your new paradigm is the secret to taking charge of your own life rather than being guided by the invisible hand of a limiting paradigm.  What could be better?  I’m not saying it’s easy – I’ve found it to be the most challenging aspect of learning to produce results and it’s something that needs constant attention – but it’s worth every bit of effort it takes me.

Next Step: Please share your old and new paradigms on this PEERtrainer thread. This is important because others might outline a limiting belief of their own, and you might realize that "hey, I do that too!"

Thank you!!





Jinny Ditzler has been a corporate and personal development coach for 30 years and is the creator of "Best Year Yet Online"  Best Year Yet is a proven and guaranteed system that teaches you the secret to successful goal setting. When you set the right goals, and put a system around them that guarantees you follow through- your results will follow! Click here to learn more about the Best Year Yet Online System.