The Magic of Empowering Beliefs

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.”

• Henry Ford

Are you familiar with the way a circus elephant is trained? When an elephant is small and weak, one leg is tied with a rope to a wooden stake. Initially the elephant tries to break free but the rope is too strong and she is convinced that breaking free is impossible.  Years later, when the baby elephant has grown to six or seven tons, despite her enormous strength, she is still easily constrained by a light rope, and a thin wooden stake. The elephant learns her limitations when she is small and weak and remains convinced for the rest of her life that what was once true will always be true. She remains imprisoned by her limiting beliefs when clearly she has the strength to pull that puny stake out of the ground and free herself at any moment.  Let’s think about that. In what ways are you like a big powerful elephant who is convinced you are weak and powerless? In what areas of your life are you convinced you can’t?  It is never true that you can’t. The truth is that you possess absolutely infinite power. The truth is that the power of the entire Universe is inherent in your life. You can do whatever you believe you can do. So how can you change a limiting belief into an empowering belief? The first step is to acknowledge that a belief is simply a thought you keep thinking. Let’s say you want to believe you can do the work you love and be well paid for it. Perhaps you’ve denied yourself the path your heart is yearning for because you haven’t believed sufficiently that you really can have what you want. OK, it’s time to change that!
Since a belief is nothing more than a thought you keep thinking, you can easily transform your beliefs by choosing different thoughts. Positive affirmations are a great way to consciously choose thoughts that contribute to your empowerment rather than undermine it.  Affirmations work best when they’re stated in the positive, in the present tense, and especially when they’re stated with FEELING. And, by the way, it’s not necessary to completely believe them at first.  Repetition of affirmations leads to belief and belief leads to physical manifestation.  I like to begin affirmations with “I am so happy and appreciative now that . . . .” Using our example from above, we might say: I am so happy and appreciative now that . . . :
- I’m doing the work I love.
- I’m well paid for doing the work I love.
- I get to wake up every morning and do what my heart is calling me to do.
Your life experience is limited only by the boundaries of your beliefs. If you’ve bought into lack and limitation and struggle – if you’ve been convinced that life is hard and you can’t really have what you want – if you’ve been taught to settle, to accept less than you truly desire, then know this: Your new empowering beliefs will set you free!
Like the elephant, you continue to prove your belief that you can or that you can’t. So, make a promise to yourself right here right now that you will think empowering “YES, I CAN” thoughts until “YES, I CAN becomes what you know for sure. When you KNOW YOU CAN, you escape the prison of limiting beliefs. When you KNOW YOU CAN, you reclaim your power, your joy and your freedom.
As you free yourself from the prison of limiting beliefs by choosing empowering beliefs, you truly CAN be and do and have whatever you desire!