Using Visualization to Change Limiting Beliefs

By Iain Legg

It’s easy to overlook the power of limiting beliefs and spend years wondering why you can’t seem to move forward and make lasting changes in your life. Though you might have grand dreams of living a better life, limiting beliefs will keep prodding you to act in ways that are counterproductive to those dreams.

Everything you do (or don’t do) is based on an internal set of subconscious beliefs. In some situations these beliefs can be helpful, but they can also cause big problems by placing limitations where none really exist. For example, if you hold a subconscious belief that you don’t have what it takes to create a successful career, you’ll find yourself taking jobs that offer little opportunity for promotion or advancement – or even satisfaction. No matter how badly you want to experience more success in your career, you’ll continue to think and act in ways that make it impossible to do so.

Limiting beliefs can be difficult to change because we often don’t realize they exist! They reside in our subconscious minds and rarely make themselves known in obvious ways. Rather, we usually become aware of them when we decide to make changes in our lives and keep bumping up against invisible walls.

Visualization is one powerful tool that can be effective in changing limiting beliefs, because the process of visualization speaks directly to the subconscious mind and plants more empowering messages – which can override the limiting beliefs.

Before you enter into the visualization process, it’s a good idea to figure out what kind of limiting beliefs you suspect you may have. Asking yourself specific questions and writing down your answers can be an illuminating way to find out. Try questions like these for starters:

• Am I making as much money as I want? If not, why not?
• Do I love my career, or would I rather be doing something else?
• Am I happy with the size and state of my body? If not, why not?
• Am I happy with the things I’ve achieved in my life so far?
• What else would I like to achieve?
• Do I really believe I’m capable of doing these things?
• If not, why not?

As you write down your answers to these questions, you’ll likely notice some limiting beliefs popping up in response. For example, when you ask why you’re not yet making the amount of money you desire, your answer might be, “I’m earning as much as I can at my current job, and there are no other prospects for me to get a better job right now.” As much as that might appear to be true, it’s a limiting belief! In other words, you THINK it’s true, but it’s simply your perception.

Once you’ve identified a limiting belief, write it down like these examples:

• I don’t believe I can make more money than I do now.
• I don’t believe I deserve a healthy, loving relationship.
• I don’t believe I can have a better career than I do now.
• I don’t believe I will ever be able to lose weight.

Once you’ve got a list of limiting beliefs, perform a visualization exercise daily and imagine that the opposite is true. For example, call up mental images of yourself receiving a great new job, or stumbling upon unexpected opportunities to boost your income in other ways. Be sure to actually move yourself into the feelings of these visions as if you were really experiencing them rather than just “seeing” them in your mind.

It will take time and consistent effort to change your belief in what is possible, but the more you focus on consciously believing in the possibilities, the more you’ll begin to let go of your inner limitations and open to better circumstances. Even better, the greatest part about this process is that you don’t need to know “how” something is possible – you just need to be willing to believe it is, and that is often enough to attract new opportunities that will change everything.