“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford

Belief is an illusion, yet it has so much power over us. Belief system is an acquired knowledge and beliefs only live in your head. This is good and bad at the same time. It is bad because all of us have dysfunctional and limiting beliefs that don’t serve us and hinder our growth. Yet it is empowering to know that by simply shifting a simple belief we can gain our power back.

Try this… Pick a limiting belief that you have, such as “I can never…(plug a word/phrase here)” and replace this with “I can …(plug the same word/phrase).” Pay attention how your body feels when you pronounce each one of them several times. If you repeat anything a number of times, it registers in your subconscious mind as a belief and soon enough it BECOMES YOUR REALITY.

Have you noticed how hard is it to argue with people about things they strongly believe in? Core beliefs get formulated through extensive programming starting from childhood, influenced by parents, educational system, religion, society, media, and so on. If enough of these channels feed into the same idea it slowly registers in your subconscious mind as a belief. Your mind, in its turn, starts looking for more validation to support the belief (read Open your heart to settle your mind Blog), which then overtime becomes a core belief. Granted if the belief is not questioned overtime, and enough people around propagate the same belief, then you can be convinced it is THE TRUTH and nothing but the truth. But wait there is more… many beliefs have been transferred to us from several generations prior, which were influenced by living conditions and limited knowledge available to our ancestors. I call it the collective consciousness, which is easy to identify in clichés and superstitions, such as “Money is the root of all evil.”

When someone brings up their opinion about something and you find yourself strongly disagreeing, remember, it is their belief, you don’t have to agree, but you also cannot judge. It simply differs from your belief.  If we consider how each and every one of us has been raised in different cultural, educational systems, societal conditions,  then whose beliefs are really right? Depending on where I am in different parts of the country or the world, majority beliefs change dramatically. Unless I want to conform, I am left with no choice but to QUESTION! Extensive questioning of my own personal beliefs as a foreigner led me to the understanding that BELIEFS ARE SIMPLY ILLUSIONS, they are NOT universal truths. If enough people understood this in the world we would have more PEACE. 

To identify your limiting beliefs ask yourself, “Where am I stuck in my life?” Or “which beliefs don’t work for me any longer?” Maybe you believe you don’t deserve to be loved because … plug whatever circumstance here – you are not pretty, you don’t deserve love, etc.  Pay attention to your self talk – is it positive or do you often put yourself down over very minor “failures”? (read The Art of Self-Care blog)

Dysfunctional Beliefs can be disguised in very simple thought patterns, such as “I always get sick before a big event” or “I am shy” or “I can never get anything right the first time”. These may have been your reality an entire lifetime, but once you bring your awareness to these beliefs and set the intention to release them and replace them with new and positive beliefs, you can change your life.

Some beliefs may take longer to break as they are wired by habits, and it may take a few times of “falling into the old pattern” to release the belief completely, but don’t get discouraged, give it some time. Be especially mindful of anything that comes after “I am…” and “You are…” Make sure to switch to a positive statement each time you mention something negative after these. Set an intention to shift and do the work. 

Life can be a breeze if you have the right tools. So next time you catch yourself with a dysfunctional belief, pause, intentionally replace it with a positive belief that serves your highest and best interests and watch the miracles unfold…

Yours in restructuring your beliefs,

Ava Mucikyan