Limiting Beliefs

As a coach, I see many people who say that they want a certain thing but then behave in a manner that absolutely WONT get them the results they say they desperately want.

There are many reasons for this, but one of them is their limiting beliefs -- I would like to cover that today.

Firstly, I want to talk about why some people succeed and some don't.

It shocks and saddens me that so many people don't back themselves 100%. Excuses like: "I'm not good enough", "that could never happen to me", "it's easy for them", "there is something wrong with me", -- the list goes on and on. The FACT is - EVERY single person on the planet is the same. Yes, I will concede that some people are born with a certain natural ability, but natural ability is such a small part of the puzzle compared to the 4 D's: Dedication, Determination, Desire and Discipline.

People like Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, Anky van Grunsven, insert title of your hero here, are no different to you or me! They simply aren't! All of them were not born knowing how to play golf, how to be a success, or how to ride! They weren't! They learned it! They also practiced and they were 200% dedicated, determined, disciplined and their desire for it to be true outweighed all the hardships, frustrations and hard times until they had reached the success they knew they would achieve. When I look at my 'heroes' or people I admire and want to have the same success as, I don't say "Wow that could never be me", or "I wish that was me" All I ask is; "How do they DO that" As in what decisions did they make, what did they have to believe about themselves and others, how many times did they fall down and get up again before they reached the pinnacle of that success. And then when I know that, I know how to create the success they did. I trust I am making it clear to you that the people that succeed are the people that get up more times than they fall down.

There is NO difference between the people that have success and the people that don't. The only thing separating the two is the actions they take. If you take the same actions as them you will have the same results! Now what is interesting here is understanding what determines our actions. Our thinking does this and part of the way we think is made up of our belief system.

If we have limiting beliefs such as "I am never good enough", "I can never get it right", "I always get it wrong", "I can't get it", "I'm hopeless", and so on, that filters our experience of reality and thus affects the decisions we make, which affects the actions we take, which then affects the results. So this is why it is so important to address these beliefs as they are the foundations of everything else.

It's like with coaching, if someone comes to me saying - "I need to have better time management", I can coach them around having a diary and a watch, etc, or I can address their limiting belief. For example it could be that they believed "there is never enough time in the day" Someone who has that as a belief will experience pain and rushing trying to get everything done compared to someone with the belief "there is plenty of time in the day and all the things that are important are always done". Do you see the difference in energy with the two beliefs? So in riding someone with a belief of "I can never 'get' dressage and I could never ride at the Olympics", would have a much different riding experience compared to someone with the belief "Dressage is easy and simple, everything I need is within me right now to understand". That doesn't mean rider number two won't experience frustration and find dressage 'hard', but with the belief in place of it being easy and simple, and everything they need is within them now, the frustration and the hardness disappear rather quickly, leaving the belief to ring true.

So how do you change your limiting beliefs? The first thing is you need to become aware of them! 95% is awareness. Once you are aware you can then create change. So any time you have a belief you have to ask yourself "Is this belief serving me to being the best version of me, and helping me go in the direction I want?" If the answer is Yes - Fantastic, keep it. If the answer is No, you must stop right there and then say, "this belief is false and misleading," and create for yourself a true and empowering belief to say to yourself in its place. For instance I used to have a limiting belief of "I can't do flying changes" or "I'm not good at flying changes" I now have an honest belief of "I am the queen of flying changes, I have had more practice than anyone else and know how to do them so much more in depth than anyone else from all my practices"

Enjoy going on the hunt for your limiting beliefs, if you have any of course, and enjoy the results you achieve once you have ensured supporting empowering beliefs are the foundations of your riding! I personally guarantee you will love the ride!

Natasha Althoff-Kelley
http://yourridingsuccess.com
Visit my website for your free 7 Keys to Your Riding Success