As Zig Ziglar tells it, fleas do only two things – jump, and ride dogs. To train a flea you just put it in a jar, and put a lid on the jar (with air holes of course!). The flea will jump and hit the lid of the jar. Repeatedly. Jump – bam! Jump – bam! – jump – bam!Sad, isn't it? The only thing that has changed is that the flea has altered his behavior because of his limiting belief. Because of that, he is now trapped in the jar for the rest of his life.
The flea may do this for an hour or more, but eventually he’ll come to believe that jumping as high as he is capable results in pain. Well, he’s still got to jump because that’s what fleas do, but in order to avoid pain he’ll stop jumping quite so high.
At that point your flea is trained. You can remove the jar lid and the flea won’t jump out. Why not? He is still capable of jumping high enough to get out of the jar. However, he can’t escape the jar now because he no longer understands the difference between a real limitation (the lid) and a self-limiting belief (jumping too high equals pain).
What Limiting Beliefs Are Holding You Back?
Answering that question is key to breaking through to the life you really want. A great test is to make a "Can't" list, a list of what you "know" you can't do and why. Complete the following sentence for everything that comes to mind:
I can't ____________ because _____________.
Pay attention to what comes after the word "because". That's your own little inner voice telling you that there is a reason this is impossible, and that's what keeps you from being open to any possibility. If a great idea hit you over the head you would instantly dismiss it because you have already decided it's hopeless!
The list is endless! To give you an example, here are a few that relate to money:
• Money is the root of all evil.
• It's not right for me to be rich while so many others have nothing.
• If I didn't work hard for it, I don't deserve it.
• All rich people are __________ (greedy, corrupt, selfish ... fill in the blank).
Get the idea? Now look back at your "Can't" list. Most of our limiting beliefs have to do with somehow feeling hopeless, helpless, useless (it isn't worth the effort because it won't work anyway), worthless (I don't deserve it), or blameless (your situation is always the fault of someone or something else).
Once you discover your own self-limiting beliefs, all you have to do is stop accepting them as truths. It's that simple. However, that doesn't mean it's easy because:
We acquire many of our limiting beliefs as children. These thought patterns are lifelong "habits", deeply ingrained in us.
Most limiting beliefs are operating on a subconscious level.
