Challenge the “I am not___” stories you tell yourself.
This week, real life stories of the power of challenging limiting beliefs kept coming up.
I wanted to share these simple examples as I believe that everyone will relate, in some way. My hope is that you feel inspired to catch your "I am not ___" stories and start to challenge them.
On a rare day with no rain, my kids were playing in the playground together. I heard my eldest say "I am not strong enough" when the boys challenged her to get their side of the see-saw in the air. It was a two vs one battle so on paper, this may be true but is it fact, we don't know until it's tested. So I asked her "Who says?"....and the real sibling battle began. She gave it her all, did not succeed but concluded it was because they had too much breakfast, instead of her limitations, so let's call that a win for overcoming a limiting belief!
We were watching our new favourite family TV show, Secret Genius, where they aim to find "ordinary people with extraordinary minds". One by one, as the contestants were being interviewed, the thread became clear. Each contestant recognised they had been playing down their abilities for too long, to fit in, to play the role expected of them, whatever the path... now they were ready to prove to themselves and others, that they were much more than people saw. What I saw was a fire in their eyes and a strong conviction that they were tired of feeling limited (and spoiler, they are all insanely good at solving puzzles)
This week, I sat my final exam for my ICF ACC accreditation. No big deal? That's what I thought, until I started to attempt to study and quickly realised what worked in university, long ago, would no longer work. Practicing what I preach... I caught my "I am not able to concentrate for long enough" story come flooding in. I took a new approach and mapped out all the ways I could learn. My learning approach evolved to podcasts, flashcards, online quizzes, google LLM everything’s and peer coach conversations. It was important to me to use this exam as an opportunity to sharpen my knowledge (passing the exam is the bonus).
I am delighted I was able to use my own coaching tools to map out my options and find an approach that worked for me. I turns out "I am able to concentrate...for long enough to learn in small chunks"
Over to you! If you feel inspired to do some work on your potentially fictional stories is a short exercise for you. Grab a pen and page and follow the prompts below:
Notice: "What are the "I can't___ " stories that you play over and over?"
Pick one to work on: "What might someone who is 'fearless' think about this story?"
Shift perspective: "How might a version of you who is 10 years older, and much wiser, look back at this moment?"
Explore: "What could you do today if you woke up and this belief was simply gone?"
Reframe: "How could your approach change if you added the word 'yet' to the end of that sentence?"
💡Tip💡Keep a notepad or what's app yourself when you notice a story playing. By catching the stories live, you become more aware and you will spot the loudest stories pretty quickly.
You are more powerful than your brain will ever let you believe. Your brain is working hard to keep you safe. But do you need safety? There are moments when you do and others, when its time to step out and stretch yourself.
Challenging your internalized beliefs is a great way to take control of your mindset and practice dipping your toe into your stretch zone. This is where the magic of your power and potential will start to glimmer and your eyes will light up.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Remember, there are no prizes for perfection, only for showing up and trying! Any questions or ideas you would like to share, I would love to hear them. You can reach me any time at hello@thebiglifeproject.ie and on my social channels (LinkedIn and Instagram)
