Believe in Yourself

Knowing how to work with clients regarding their limiting beliefs doesn’t make us exempt from struggling with our own.

I can’t. I don’t. I shouldn’t. I’m not. It’s too late. I don’t deserve. Do you have a professional state of mind or belief about yourself in your professional role that is restricting your career in some way?

At one time or another I have told myself all the following:

"The work I’m doing isn’t making a difference.” “I’m not talented enough or smart enough to get a promotion.”

“There is nothing special about my ideas and/or my contributions.”

"It is egotistical to prioritize my professional self-care.” Do any of my narratives sound familiar?

Unpacking Your Limiting Professional Beliefs

Your mindset about yourself has a powerful effect on your life, your work, and your career. This means it influences what you expect, it influences what you pay attention to, and it impacts how you respond to and engage with the world around you. This means your professional reality is a mix of what is objectively happening and how you think about it.

I encourage you to take some time today and regularly to tune-in to your professional self and identify limiting beliefs.

Step 1 : Find a quiet place to tune-in to professional self. Use your awareness to identify limiting beliefs. They may start with I can’t. I don’t. I should. I shouldn’t. I’m not. It’s too late. I don’t deserve.

Step 2 : Ask yourself the following questions about each of your identified limiting beliefs. These insights can help you develop an appropriate professional self-care reframing strategy.

Why do I think that?

What is the origin of the belief?

What impact is it having on my professional expectations?

How does it influence what I pay attention to at work?

How does it restrict my short-term and long-term career goals?

There is no shame in having limiting beliefs. Our strength is in our willingness to be honest with ourselves. Through identifying what’s holding us back we can GROW, learn, and achieve our goals.

Reframing for Success

Reframing our limiting professional beliefs can help us move toward success, but it begins with asking “What new belief(s) can I embrace to replace my limiting beliefs?”

Step 3: Ask yourself this question for each of the limiting beliefs you identified. “What new belief(s) can I embrace to replace my limiting beliefs?”

With your new belief(s) you can practice reframing what you expect, what you pay attention to, and how you respond to and engage with your work and your career pathway. Over time you can improve your professional confidence in achieving your goals and positively influence your overall wellbeing.

Step 4: Talk about it. With authenticity and accountability share your story and invite others to do the same.

Community is critical to overall wellness and that includes your professional wellness. To help support your reframing I recommend finding a safe space to talk about your limiting beliefs. A friend or trusted colleague can encourage your process, help you differentiate between fact and belief and help you advance your new beliefs. You may also choose to consult with a professional personal therapist to untangle your beliefs. One more thing about community. Please remember to look around and see if there are people in your life, your office that need your encouragement to advance the work they are doing to battle limiting beliefs and construct new beliefs.

Step 5: Write personal affirmations that support your new beliefs, display them, repeat them often, believe in them, and make positive changes.

Affirmations are a great tool that can support your progress. The use of positive statements can challenge you to overcome self-sabotaging thoughts. Below I have listed a few of the affirmations I used to move beyond my limiting beliefs.

1. I bring a lot to the table when it comes to my work product.

2. My team realizes my value.

3. I am awesome and the work I'm doing is valuable.

4. I am talented and smart.

5. Even if I don’t have all the knowledge and skills, I have a desire and willingness to learn.

6. I deserve to follow my professional passion/social work why and advocate for my professional self-care and career pathway.

What are yours? If you aren't into making your own cards I would encourage you to check out this deck of Power Thought Cards and or check out this free Daily Positive Affirmation website. We keep this deck in our home and have often gifted it to others.

Once more, there is nothing shameful about having limiting beliefs. Hang in there. To GROW, learn, and progress towards our goals, we must be willing to be honest with ourselves. Today, and regularly, I encourage you to identify limiting beliefs and tune-in to your professional self.

"My unique and creative talents and abilities flow through me and are expressed in deeply satisfying ways. My creativity is always in demand."

Believe in yourself! #youmatter

If you are looking to do additional work related to limiting and or negative thoughts and beliefs I invite you to try this journaling exercise: Journaling Negative Thoughts: 20 Prompts for Deeper Understanding.

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