From skeptic to believer
This week we are going to be talking about limiting beliefs. You know, those pesky thoughts about ourselves that keep us from going after what we want.
This leads me to my yoga practice, which has had a huge role in opening my mind and breaking free of limiting beliefs.
When I first started practicing yoga, my body was broken. I tore a ligament in my ankle while running a half marathon. My orthopedic doctor put me in a walking boot for 3 months to help avoid surgery. He told me to go about all of my normal activities.
He didn't know that my normal activities were walking my dog about 6 miles a day, bartending, and all the other activities my 20-something self was doing on her feet.
By the time I got out of the boot my hips and back hurt so badly I could barely bend over to put my shoes and socks on. I felt like I was 80 years old, not the 20-something I was.
I tried returning to walking and running, but my body just kept feeling worse. My roommates told me to try yoga. I had no idea what yoga was other than stretching to some new-age music. 😂 Nothing against all that but it just didn't feel like it was for me. I wanted to sweat, build muscle, and push my body to its limits, not roll around on a yoga mat.
Eventually, I gave in and went to an Ashtanga class. It was amazing and exactly what I was looking for. It made me sweat, build muscle, and pushed my body to its limits. It also forced me to see how bad things were with my body. I could barely bend over and touch my knees.
I remember watching the other people in the class and marveling at what their bodies could do. I would often think to myself, how do they do that?!? Followed quickly by the thought that I'd never be able to do that.
I stuck with the practice. Weeks turned into months and months turned into years. Slowly, over time, my body began to open and repair. I can still remember the first time I could touch my toes! It was one of the most exciting moments of my life! I looked around the room hoping everyone realized how amazing that moment was! 😂
With each small milestone, my mind began to drop the story that I would never be able to do these postures and begin to see what was possible. I realized that I had been telling myself a story from the beginning, and that story wasn't true. Now, over 21 years later, I am doing things in my yoga practice that I never would have dreamed of doing when I first started.
I began to see that with consistency, over time, anything is possible.
Seeing possibilities didn't end on my mat, what I learned in yoga translated to the rest of my life.
Don't get me wrong, I am a glass-is-half-full person, but I started to see possibilities I wouldn't have seen even with that positive attitude. The stories I was telling myself changed. I realized that it may take a lot of hard work, but if I truly want something, I can make it happen.
That thought was like the snowflake that started the avalanche because from that moment forward I started to go after what I wanted in all areas of my life.
Here's the thing about limiting beliefs: they aren't even true most of the time.
These thoughts sit in your subconscious and dictate your behavior, often without your awareness. They keep you playing small instead of living life to your fullest potential.
If you find that you are holding back in life or find that you have developed some limiting beliefs there are a few steps you can take to change how you view things.
Ask yourself if the story you are telling yourself is really true. Once you realize it isn't true, you can choose to think about it differently.
What are you missing out on if it's not true? If you don't put yourself out there you won't ever get what you want out of life.
Push out of your comfort zone. Try something you would never normally do and see what happens. You might just surprise yourself.
Work on your mindset. Learn to see things as possibilities and not obstacles. This is a skill that you can learn.
We only have this one life. Don't sit on the sidelines watching yours go by because there's a story playing in your head that might not even be true. Stop playing small and go after what you want!