This is the second article in a three part series on identifying and eliminating Limiting Beliefs and keeping them out. You can read our previous article here on identifying these beliefs and read below to learn how to get rid of them and take control of your thoughts again!

On The Science of Success Podcast with Matt Bodnar, Matt discusses something we have all dealt with at one time or another, limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs are those tiny thoughts we experience every single day that run through our heads and hold us back. “Limiting Beliefs are stories you tell yourself that cause you to self-sabotage.” Explains Matt. “I might look too sales-y, I’m afraid of trusting people, people won’t like me, and I’m not enough” are all very common yet at times crippling beliefs.

These beliefs cause us to hold ourselves back and often not even attempt actions that could lead to our greater happiness. So how do we get rid of these thoughts? “You have to accept reality as it is. You can’t wish away your limiting beliefs.” Instead, Matt insists that we challenge these beliefs.

Here is Matt’s four question framework that you can run through that will obliterate your limiting beliefs:

1. Is this belief true?

Not to worry advises Matt “many times you’ll say YES, I think it’s true, yes – I don’t want to come across as sales-y… or oftentimes even at a surface level, the belief – it’s just not true.” The idea here is to identify if the belief is true in your mind, and if it is, that’s ok! We want to identify where we stand with this belief and how it is framed in our mind currently.

“The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.” – George Bernard Shaw

2. Can I know that it’s true?

“The first question is only about your surface level perception. This is much, much deeper” Do you know this for a fact to be an absolute truth? “What is the nature of this truth? Has anybody in history ever proven this wrong?” adds Matt. If someone has done something different or proven your thought to have been wrong in the past, we now can begin to peel back the layers of your limiting belief.

3. How do I react when I think that thought?

This is really where we can begin to analyze the full effect this thought has. Matt recommends tapping into your emotional state, “You have to really feel into this, feel the emotion that it makes you feel. How do you react when you think you can’t be successful? That you’ll never be able to lose weight? Feel the anger, frustration, whatever it might be” Recognizing the way these thoughts feel and the emotions they bring out allows us to, in the moment, feel the effect they have on us when they come up in our routine lives.

“How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.” – Wayne Dyer

4. Who would I be without that thought?

Here, think about who you’d truly be if you weren’t afraid of what people thought of you. If you didn’t have a fear of failing and not losing any weight. “You would be a better person, you would be more successful, and you’d be killing it. You’d be achieving everything you want, and as soon as that belief is gone, you can be that person!” explains Matt.

By analyzing and thinking about the belief, it’s meaning, the emotions behind it, and where you’d be without it, you allow your mind to envision a scenario without the belief all together. This thought process is subconsciously what allows you to identify, isolate, and eliminate or move past these beliefs. The benefits of asking these questions and analyzing your beliefs can be huge for long-term happiness and success.

Be on the lookout for part three of this series on how to not only eliminate these thoughts but how to work towards keeping them out of your head entirely. You can listen to the full hour long episode here with Matt on Limiting Beliefs and how to overcome them for positive change.

Have you asked yourself these questions? What have you realized about your limiting beliefs? Leave your thoughts below!