Breaking Free from Limiting Thoughts
Sometimes, we don’t know why we have such limiting thoughts, like unwanted, pervasive weeds that we cannot easily pull up or eliminate. It makes it hard to figure out how to get to a better place, and we long for a future freedom that is much better than our past or present.
Breaking free from a limiting belief or life experience can be daunting. It isn’t enough to just tell ourselves, “STOP IT!” If that worked, we would all be free from some of life’s most significant challenges. Instead, we need to find ways to make lasting mental shifts. If you have found yourself longing for just such freedom, keep reading!
Find the Right Spot to Dig
As we strive to gain this freedom from stuck points, the weeds we find covering our minds, a common challenge is knowing where to dig up the roots of these limiting beliefs.
Helpful indicators are to:
- Consider when the problematic thinking started
- Examine the stories you tell yourself about this problem
- Reflect on when you first felt these feelings or thought these thoughts
This information helps us know where to explore more in-depth and where to aim EMDR processing as we strive for breakthroughs in limited thinking or distressing experiences.
Acknowledging When You Drew the Conclusions
Knowing when and where these conclusions started allows us to consider whether they are a compilation of our current knowledge or a less mature conclusion we formed as younger versions of ourselves. We learn and grow throughout life, but sometimes, our wounded experiences and the conclusions we draw from them fail to advance with us as we age. These are often the areas where we need the most growth and relief.
Recognizing Different Interpretations of a Situation
Our early childhood experiences cause us to draw false and limiting conclusions. They leave us with blind spots in our interpretation of situations, and we fail to consider other vantages. This can happen because we haven’t lived enough or were taught to see things in one particular way by our family of origin. It is a valuable step to consider that these conclusions might be in error and not working for us.
Relief from Limiting Thoughts – a Collaborative Process
Together, we can assess these life experiences, examine the root beliefs, and dig into the deeper meanings they hold for you today. We progress once we make those discoveries and begin to question our possibly mistaken conclusions. Through targeted EMDR, we can examine the past experiences and beliefs contributing to these limiting thoughts, and work forward to more mature understandings. These new vantages and processed experiences create relief from limiting thoughts and feelings.
Written by: Jennifer Stuckert
jennifer@restorationcoachingatl.com
Jennifer has gone through expert training, experienced coaching herself, run businesses for over 13 years, developed her own team, and learned her own lessons. She is trained in cutting-edge neurobiological treatments, which, when applied to coaching, produce rapid growth and freedom. In addition, she has experienced the struggles of running a business that honors God and people. It is not easy to make changes alone. Jennifer is here to help you get the resources and support you need to have freedom, clarity, conviction, and certainty.