Limiting Beliefs versus Liberating Truths: Quarantine Edition

Michael Hyatt does a lot of work on limiting beliefs. In his book, Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals, there is actually an entire chapter dedicated to assessing our limiting beliefs, and how we might exchange them for liberating truths. This led me to ponder, How do limiting beliefs come into play during these days of quarantine?

The labyrinth at the Franciscan Renewal Center, Phoenix AZ

How do limiting beliefs come into play during these days of quarantine?

​What are Limiting Beliefs?

Limiting beliefs are those ideas we have about ourselves that limit our future possibilities (definition, my own). They tend to be global statements or generalizations that we make about ourselves based on a certain situation or predicament we find ourselves in. For example, if on Day 3 of your new diet, you find yourself scarfing down a piece of pizza and popping the tab on a soda and rationalize by saying, "I can't help it. Dieting just isn't for me," this is a limiting belief. Or, if you slowly start to give up your weekly trips to the gym, you might eventually look at all of those wasted dollars in your bank account and say, "I never can seem to finish what I start," you just might have identified a limitation you believe about yourself. The truth is, you can help it. You can finish what you start. Your limiting beliefs about yourself are simply holding you back.

We can also hold limiting beliefs about others, or the world in which we live, but for the purpose of our work here today, we will just focus on the limiting beliefs we hold about ourselves. 
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Liberating Truths

So, what is the opposite of a limiting belief? A liberating truth. Again, by my own synopsis, a liberating truth is something you belief about yourself that allows for boundaries to be crossed rather than created. It exponentially expands your ability to impact rather than withdraw. Liberating truths disregard global statements and toss generalizations out the door. In the examples above, a liberating truth may be, "I can find a diet that works for me," or "Although I may not finish where I want to, I can make peace with the progress I have achieved."  
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A liberating truth exponentially expands your ability to impact rather than withdraw. Liberating truths disregard global statements and toss generalizations out the door. 

​Limiting Beliefs During Quarantine

​So, how do limiting beliefs and liberating truths play into our daily rhythms of quarantine? Here are some examples:

Limiting Belief #1: 

• I can't get anything done. There is no use even having a goal right now.

Liberating Truth #1:

• I can progress at the pace of grace. I just need to revise or limit the number of goals I can realistically accomplish during these days of when I'm working from home.

Limiting Belief #2: 

• I am not a very patient or present person. I always fail those around me. 

Liberating Truth #2:

• Not being totally patient or present with people is normal right now. I can, however, put practices into place to support my focus on those around me.

Limiting Belief #3:

• There is no point in keeping a routine. I can't seem to find my groove.

Liberating Truth #3:

• ​My routine might look a little different from day-to-day, but I can still create sacred rhythms that support me in maintaining an appropriate pace for my life right now. 

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My routine may look a little different from day-to-day, but I can still create sacred rhythms that support me in maintaining an appropriate pace for my life right now. 

​No matter what we are experiencing, there are ways to revise our limiting beliefs to create more liberating truths about ourselves and our current situation. It simply takes the realization that our limiting beliefs exist, and the appropriate time to rephrase them in a liberating and caring way.

Linger a Little Longer:
1. Which limiting belief from above resonates with you right now? Explain.
2. What is a limiting belief you may be experiencing as a result of social distancing?
3. How can you change that limiting belief to a liberating truth? Share in the comments below!