Don’t Believe Your Limiting Beliefs

Have you ever found yourself saying, “I didn’t have a choice” in describing decisions you made in your past? Like staying in a job longer than you should have, or staying in a relationship after it was dead for a long time?

It happens all the time doesn’t it?

When it’s Difficult to see Good Possibilities

When you’re in the middle of a situation that seems impossible to overcome, and good solutions are in short supply, your limited perceptions of what is possible can get in the way of seeing the endless options at your disposal. The danger in believing your limiting beliefs is that they keep you from living your best life. They will discourage you from pursing your dreams and keep you tied to false truths. Even worse, they will take you off the course God is calling you to take.

Faith is the underlying reality, necessary for you to see the best solutions for your life. Even if it’s just a whisper of faith, because faith helps you believe that God’s bigger picture is possible. Faith, is believing that improbable things are possible. And not only possible, but a breath away from happening.

The Power of Faith

Instead of focusing on faith, and building trust in our previous experiences with God, we have a tendency to focus on all the reasons things aren’t possible. Sadly, when you focus on limiting beliefs you rob yourself of seeing the best possibilities available to you. In the end you rob yourself of the best path forward.

There’s a story in the book of Deuteronomy that tells the story of a group of people, the Israelite, who after being rescued from Egyptian slavery wandered the wilderness in search for a homeland. When they get to the place which God had promised them, they sent 12 spies to survey the land. When they came back they said, “It is a good land…” which should have been reason enough to enter that land. But it wasn’t. Because there is always a “but” when something seems too good to be true.

Giants and Limiting Beliefs

The spies said, “The people are greater and taller than we….we have seen the sons of Anakim(a race of giants) there.” (Deuteronomy 1v28, ESV). There was saying, “Who can stand before the sons of Anakim”. Which expressed the obvious answer that no one could stand before them because they were too great a warrior. On the one hand, it makes sense not to fight an army that is bigger and stronger than you. On the other hand, God had just rescued them from the Egyptian empire through some very miraculous and improbable ways. The size of the army was irrelevant. Moses reminded them what God had done for them in the past by saying, “Do not be in dread or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.” (Deuteronomy 1v29, ESV). “Yet in spite of this word you did not believe…” (Deuteronomy 1v32, ESV).

They had seen with their own eyes improbable things become a reality. They saw the impossible become possible. Yet they chose fear over faith. They chose to hide behind their limiting beliefs instead of boldly pursuing the path that would lead to their greatest fulfillment. Their fear derailed them from their destiny. Sadly, this story ends with God saying, “…turn, journey into the wilderness…” (Deut. 1v40) They were to turn around and go away from the place they had journeyed to, because they chose fear over faith. They chose their comfort zones over courage.

This isn’t just a story that happened thousands of years ago. It is your story. It is my story. Every time you choose fear over faith, you will miss out on fulfilling your potential, and experiencing life at its fullest.

Overcoming Limiting Beliefs

We can learn two ways to overcome limiting beliefs from this story.

1.      Faith

Whenever you are passionate about something you feel compelled to do, create or produce there is always an element of fear. It’s normal to think, “What if I fail?” or “What will other’s think?”. It is in that moment where you must choose between fear or faith. If you choose fear you will be subject to regret and unfulfilled dreams. If you choose faith you might still fail, but you might also succeed beyond your greatest expectations. Faith is built upon previous experiences. Faith is built when you purse the thing God is calling you do, especially when it seems beyond your reach.

2.      Vision

Vision is about seeing beyond immediate circumstances. Limiting beliefs are the opposite of having vision. Limiting beliefs are all the reasons you think you cannot accomplish the thing set before you. Like the Israelite focusing on the giants, they didn’t believe that God could conquer them. It raises the question “What’s a giant to a God?” Vision is seeing beyond the lies that limiting beliefs tell us and having the conviction that better things await you.

If you focus on all the reasons things won’t work out the way you want them to, you will be paralyzed with disbelief. If however, you choose to believe in better possibilities, and refuse to accept your limiting beliefs as your reality, you may just be surprised by the life you end up living.

May you choose faith over fear.