5 Indicators Unbelief is Robbing You of Your Future!

Most of us have dreams of a more satisfying and fulfilling life.  For some, those dreams include more income and free time.  For others, those dreams are centered around love, happiness, and health.  If you’re like us, you want it all!  And guess what, ALL is available to you!  All is available to you when you possess an unwavering belief that God created you to have authority and dominion in the Earth and then you act upon that belief!

"They simply cannot believe that God desires for them to have a life filled with joy and success."

This is a concept that even church goers and admitted-spiritual people have an issue with – they simply cannot believe that God desires for them to have a life filled with joy and success.  Of course, most people won’t verbalize that belief.  They will say they believe and even utter clichés like, “I’m blessed and highly favored”, but when it’s time to act on their faith, they hesitate.

Numerous scriptures in the Bible teach us that faith is more than mere words.  Faith is action!  Faith has a look.  Faith has a sound.  Faith has legs.  Faith moves in the direction of the dream we say we are believing.  If we are not actively thinking, planning, and working toward that which we say we believe, do we really have faith?  We answer this question with a resounding NO!!

"When we have faith for something, we know it because it shows!"

When we have faith for something, we know it because it shows!  The opposite of that is also true – no faith, no action.  Faith commands action!  Our faith compels us into action for the very thing we are believing God will do for us.  After all, if we REALLY believe it’s ours, shouldn’t we be working towards it and getting ready for it when it arrives.  Faith is action.  When we have faith for a thing, we pray about it.  We dream about it.  We study it.  We plan tasks and deadlines regarding it.  We hold each other accountable about things we say we’re going to do towards it.  If we are doing all these things, this is evidence that we have faith for what we say we’re believing.  If, however, we are not doing these things, that is a clear indication that we are not serious or settled and we don’t really have faith.

Faith equals action!  If we have a goal of being wealthy, there are some habits we need to start working on now so that when wealth shows us, we will be ready.  These tasks include knowing how to spend, sustain, and grow our wealth.  Other action tasks include creating a budget, creating healthy trackable spending habits, opening a bank account, and learning about investing.  All these tasks are necessary steps for wealthy people who desire to keep and grow their wealth.   

Monique – An Exercise in Limiting Beliefs

I recall a time that I was attempting to open a franchise business.  I kept telling my friends and family that I was opening a business.  I even had the audacity to put franchise business owner on my vision board every year for about five years.  I did absolutely nothing towards this goal.  If I truly did believe I would own a franchise business, I would have moved in the direction of my dream by doing things like research which businesses I might invest in, speak with various franchisors to determine owner requirements, and research how franchises work.  I did none of that.  After a while, a mentor of mine asked, “What have you done in furtherance of this goal?”  My simple answer was, NOTHING.  I could tell from the look on her face she was thinking, “Then stop talking about it!”  Had I actually had faith, my actions would have spoken so loudly that my mentor wouldn’t have had to ask me that question.

After my mentor called me on the carpet, I had to sit and ponder her question.  Based on my inaction, she could tell that I had no faith that this dream would come true.  I had to question myself about whether I really wanted this.  The answer was, YES, but I discovered something interesting.  Something internally was telling me that I wouldn’t be successful and I silently believed it.  I wouldn’t dare utter the words, but my actions (or shall I say, my inaction) told on me.  Then it hit me, I was dealing with limiting beliefs and I needed to deal with them.  After I worked through and overcame those limiting beliefs, I sprang into action and eventually opened my business (now businesses).  It turns out that neither time, money, nor lack of experience were holding me back.  Limiting beliefs and what I thought about myself were the culprit.    

What is a Limiting Belief?

A limiting belief is a state of mind or belief about yourself that restricts you in some way.  Limiting beliefs can be self-imposed, assumed because of your environment or experience, or adopted from someone else’s perspective of you.  Our beliefs about ourselves are mostly shaped during our childhood.  We are either affirmed or not in childhood and in our young adult life.  Parents, other family members, friends, and authority figures help shape our belief about ourselves.  Our environment and the media also play a role in how we see ourselves and the limits we place on ourselves.  Limiting beliefs force a person to live below their potential, equips them with excuses about why they can’t do what you really want, and shows up in crafty ways like procrastination.

 After spending time assessing my thoughts about my inaction, a light bulb came on.  I unknowingly adopted some limiting beliefs that had me in a chokehold.  I couldn’t move even though I kept saying I was going to own a franchise business.  Here were some of the limiting beliefs I was battling:

• I grew up just above the poverty line and so maybe that was meant to be my destiny even though I really wanted to own my own business;

• I don’t personally know any business owners, and so therefore,  I cannot be a business owner;

• I am a black female and the majority of the images I saw of black females in the 70s and 80s did not depict successful black businesswomen;

• I did not grow up with my father and so I was lacking in confidence in areas of my life and this was one of them; and 

• I don’t have experience running a business or even know any successful businessowners, so therefore, I will not be successful.

Limiting beliefs are hindering your progess in life

• Never
• Rarely
• Sometimes
• Alot

Are you operating in limiting beliefs?  Here are 5 signs that limiting beliefs are robbing you from getting what you want:

1. Do you ever think or say things like, “I can’t succeed because . . . .I don’t have enough money. I don’t have enough experience?"

2. Do you find yourself procrastinating in a given area of your life where you have set goals?

3. Do past “failures” make you feel like you cannot succeed?

4. Do you avoid new opportunities?

5. Are you stuck in a certain place in life that you cannot seem to break through?

If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, you likely deal with limiting beliefs.  We will discuss how to overcome limiting beliefs in our next blog, but just know that you are not alone.  We ALL have limiting beliefs that we must understand and work to overcome.  The first step in this process is to determine whether you have limiting beliefs and to identify what they are and the source of them.  

Start by becoming aware of any negative thoughts that are holding you back by thinking about your goals and then writing down every reason why you believe you cannot accomplish each goal.  Stay tuned for our next blog to learn how to overcome limiting beliefs so that you live the life you were destined to live!

To learn more about limiting beliefs, CHECK OUT OUR KEYS TO OBTAINING WHAT YOU WANT COURSE.   

As always,

Giving you THE EDGE!