Awareness: Where Does Your Limiting Mindset Come From?

Let’s start by thinking about where your negative beliefs stem from. People either approach life from a positive, expansive mental outlook; or a negative, limiting one. In fact, it's safe to say that most people lean toward a limited mindset? How so?

Well, the majority of humans live to a set of expectations that have been handed to them by society. So their achievements really only reach the status quo.

Just a small percentage of people approach life with a sky's-the-limit philosophy. These are the people who are killing it in business, taking home Olympic medals, traveling the world, setting and achieving goals, and not letting small problems take them down.

The ones who are crippled by negativity, however, hear an inner voice that constantly tells them “No,” “You can’t,” “You’re not good enough,” “You don’t know enough,” etc.

Are you one such person? Why?

If you find yourself constantly psyching yourself out each time a new opportunity presents itself, it's time to ask yourself the hard question: who put these voices in your head? Did you ever wonder how negativity managed to make its home in your brain?

Often, an authority figure of some sort, like your parents, teachers, care givers, or some other strong influence from your early years, is responsible for setting the tone of your mental outlook; the one you carry with you as a grown adult. For many people, the negative outlook stems from multiple authority figures.

Go back in your mind to a time in your childhood when you had an idea to do something, accomplish something, or be something. Maybe you wanted to try out for football, or take a babysitting job, or save up for your first car.

Did you tell your parents? How did they react?

If, growing up, your parents gave you a lot of negative feedback whenever you had an idea or goal in mind, it was bound to collect and build up inside of you. Those voices that brought you down when you were just a young and inspired kid, still live inside of your psyche.

So when we ask ourselves questions like “Can I do such-and-such,” believe it or not, the voice that responds in our own heads is often NOT our own – it’s very likely the audio script of our parents or other people whose care we were under at a tender or formative age.

What if your parents were actually awesome? What then?

What if your parents are NOT responsible for bringing you down as a kid? What is the source of your mental limitations in this case?

Not every person has had to suffer through damaging and discouraging statements aimed at them by their parents, teachers or other would-be role models.

In fact, many of us were blessed with optimistic moms and dads, instructors and coaches who told us to go for it, follow our hearts and work on making our dreams a reality

You may remember being a child, thinking you could accomplish anything you set your mind to. Your parents adored, encouraged and supported you. Your teachers and coaches cheered you on. What happened?

If you know that you were surrounded by supportive parents and mentors growing up, then if you’re presently stuck in a limiting mindset, there could be another, more recent influence. So now ask yourself:

What types of people are you currently surrounded with in your daily life?

When you go to work, does your boss empower the team and offer positive feedback for a job well done? Does he or she trust you to handle important tasks? Or are you faced with a micro managing supervisor who blames you and other staff members when things go wrong?

What about your life at home? If you’re married, can you rely on your husband or wife to stand behind you and support your personal goals? Do you have shared goals together? When things go wrong, are you able to cooperate, troubleshoot and problem-solve? Or is a game of “this is all your fault again” being played at your expense?

It can seem disheartening at first to realize that the negative outlook that has overtaken you is at least in part owed to the nay saying people who you must deal with in your daily life. Avoiding such people may seem impossible given the circumstances.

Having a limiting mindset isn’t too far from being depressed. Let’s think about that word, “depressed.” It brings a sense of being weighed down, like life’s responsibilities are bearing down on you. Something heavy is upon your shoulders – the burdens of your daily existence.

If you already feel this way, then you know that something is wrong and a breakthrough needs to happen. If you’re not quite depressed, but find yourself saying “No,” “I can’t,” “I don’t know how,” “No one can help me,” then depression likely isn’t far away.

What can you do to turn it around? Is there something?

Are you going to let the people from your past and present life influence you in this way? Are you willing to keep on being a back-seat passenger of your life while others take the wheel, making you feel badly about yourself and your life every day?

Imagine yourself as a success. If you can feel, touch, and taste success in your mind then you are halfway to experiencing it for real.