Image: Copyright: Ingeborg Bosch, Past reality integration (PRI) www.prionline.nl

 Other dancers are better than me

"I'm not good enough. There's something wrong with me. Other dancers are much better than me”, really. If this sounds familiar to you, read on. All of these statements you say to yourself are all limiting beliefs; All false truths that you have told yourself. Where do they come from and more importantly, how do you get rid of them. 

 Limiting beliefs

What are limiting beliefs? They are deep-seated thoughts, based on past experiences, that still hold us back in the present.

 Attention

When you are small, nothing is wrong yet. You get all the attention. But there will come a time when that changes. There comes a time when you have to compete with others, for example your brothers or sisters, and when you go to school there will also be a time when you will be judged. And that is certainly the case in the dance profession. Sooner or later you will find yourself in an emotional situation. You can become sad, anxious or angry. 

In those emotional moments you will draw a conclusion and that is step one in the emergence of limiting beliefs. 

 After the conclusion comes the next step and that is perception (see illustration). You start seeing situations all around you that resemble situations where you are not doing well or not being good enough and come to see that as the truth; see, it really is. Third, you have an emotional reaction. You become sad, anxious or angry. Then you think about it again. You start worrying about yourself.

This brings us to the last step: Behavior. You make sure you are invisible to the outside world and start behaving insecurely. In this way you strengthen your limiting beliefs. You think that what you tell yourself is actually true. You are firmly convinced of this truth, you are in a circle of false stories that you keep confirming.

 Difference between a belief and a fact

Have you ever been in a situation where you thought something was happening, which turned out to be different from what actually happened?

We often react quickly to things based on assumptions. These assumptions are rooted in the beliefs we have about ourselves, about others and the world around us.

 It can be a very useful exercise to write down what actually happened and what you think happened. Often we confuse these two things and treat our beliefs as if they were facts. But when we begin to see things for what they are, there is a chance that your perspective will change and you will begin to see things for what they really are.

 Diary

Take a piece of paper, or your diary, make two columns, one with facts and one with beliefs. Let's review some situations or thoughts. Then separate the facts from the beliefs and write them in the appropriate column. If something is 100% demonstrable, it is a fact. If you put your own “spin” on a scenario based on assumptions, that is a belief.

Your beliefs about yourself are your greatest weakness, but at the same time your greatest strength. Read these 5 steps. Use your strength to implement the 5 steps below and overcome your limiting beliefs

1. Acknowledge the belief.

Before you can replace a negative and unproductive thought, you need to know what it is and recognize that it plays a role in the way you think and act. Look at your list from your diary and see if you can see what the biggest belief is there and then acknowledge that too. Only if you acknowledge the limiting belief can you do something about it.

2. Find the source.

 Find where and how you developed the belief. That can go really far back in time. “I'm not good enough” may have originated in your childhood. Sit quietly for this. Close your eyes and try to recall past situations in which the belief might have arisen.

3. Overcome Limiting Beliefs . Ask yourself the following questions

• "Is it really true?" Perhaps your belief is partly true. At least you always took it for granted.

• “Can you be 100% sure that it is always true under all circumstances?” Perhaps something is true in one environment, but not at all true in another.
• “How do you feel about this?” Maybe you don't feel comfortable with it at all, but you just took it for granted.

• “Who would you be without that belief?” Nine times out of ten you will notice: It would be nice if I no longer had the conviction that I was not good enough. 

4. Create a new belief. A limiting belief is simply a phrase you keep saying to yourself. For example: “I am not good enough.” In fact, you then have a negative affirmation. You can also put a positive affirmation against it. For example: “I am good the way I am”. Or: “I am a beautiful person.” Say that to yourself all the time so that it becomes a new belief.
5. Overcome limiting beliefs. Pretend and create proof of success. Do you know the saying fake it til you make it; that's exactly what you're going to do here. Pretend the new belief is true. And feel what that feels like. As with the new affirmation, keep repeating this as often as possible.

 Try these 5 steps for a while and see what happens.

If you learn to look through a different lens and tell yourself a different story, then at some point you will also see confirmation of that other story, and that is what we want.

If you can't figure it out yourself, I can guide you. Schedule an inspiration session with me and together we will see how you can get rid of your limiting beliefs. Believe me, it will give you a lot.

Source: https://psychologievansucces.nl/beperkende-overtuigingen-hoe-kom-je-er-van-af/ IIN, Tony Robbins, Byron Katie