Overcome Self-Limiting Beliefs
“Love whatever gets in the way, until it ceases to be an obstacle.” —Mark Nepo
There lives an elephant kept from his freedom by a thin rope tied to one leg. A passing man, who realized that this 
flimsy tether could not restrain the enormous beast, asked the elephant’s keeper why this majestic creature makes no attempt to break free.
“The elephant was conditioned, from an early age, to believe that he cannot break away. This thin rope was enough to keep him from breaking away when he was young. Although the rope can no longer restrain him, he adopted the belief that he was powerless to escape long ago,” replied the keeper.
A friend of mine keeps his goldfish in a goldfish bowl. One day he filled the bathtub with water and put the goldfish in it 
while he cleaned their bowl. As he poured the fish into the large tub, he expected them to wildly swim around—finally “free”. But they did not. The goldfish stayed huddled together in the corner, only occupying a space as large as their small goldfish bowl.
The goldfish had long ago adopted the belief that they were only capable of swimming within that boundary.
Today I invite you to look around you and ask, “What chains are holding me back from living my best life?”
- Are you truly unable to live your best life?
- Or, are you allowing false self-limiting beliefs to hold you back?
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. You, too, are capable of extraordinary greatness. There is a deep reserve of strength, wisdom, light, and love within you. Only you can decide to tap into that greatness. You must identify your self-limiting beliefs and then overcome them. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it.
Take that trip. Start that business. Share that love. Whatever it is that you’ve been thinking that you can’t do, go ahead and do it. Because you can.
In love & light,
Dena
Comments (5)
crista
June 20, 2011 at 1:46 pm
makes me think of,
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?…Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory…that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” (Marianne Williamson)
thanks for this post, dena! <3
andra watkins
June 21, 2011 at 5:39 pm
I love this post. May everyone who reads it do what you advise, because it’s the truth. xo
Dena
June 22, 2011 at 9:15 am
Andra – Thank you so much, love. I am glad that you enjoyed the post. It is good advice — for my readers & for me! 😉 xoxo
Anonymous
January 21, 2012 at 7:24 am
We only limit ourselves when we don’t try.
Vera
January 21, 2012 at 7:36 am
I’m afraid of failure, so I settle for less.