A way to identify a belief is this: they are usually found after the word “because”, on phrases you usually say. As an example, if you hear yourself saying something like, “I will always be fat, because my father and mother are overweight, and I have their genes”. Another example, “They wouldn’t give me that job, because I am not smart enough”. Or, “I could never succeed because I never succeeded before in my life”. Do you get the idea?

Let’s start with your limiting beliefs. Write down 5 beliefs that you have about yourself and what you are capable of. What are the five beliefs that have limited you in the past? i.e., “I could never make more than $50,000 a year”, “ I can’t get a better job”, “nobody would pay me that much”, etc.

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Now you write down 5 empowering beliefs that can now support you in achieving your goals. Do not limit yourself in your new beliefs. Think big, think bold! Also, and this is extremely important, state your beliefs in the affirmative, never state a belief that negates what you don’t want. Example: “My life is abundant” is a great example, but “I don’t have any more debt” is not, since it is not positive enough, and your brain will focus on “debt” instead of the “I don’t”. These new beliefs will replace the ones that have limited you before.

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Excellent! Feel grateful for taking this first step that can change your life for the better.

Now, get two pieces of paper. On the first piece of paper, write down the first limiting belief you are eliminating. What you are going to do first is create doubt. Once you start to doubt a belief, it becomes weak, making it easier to replace with another belief. Then, you are going to associate massive pain to have that belief, and a massive pain in the future if you continue to have that belief. In other words, you have to feel the negative emotions associated with living with that belief, and how it would negatively affect you. Then, on the other piece of paper, you are going to associate massive pleasure to the new belief that you want to adopt in its place.

This exercise is extremely powerful, so please, do yourself a favor and take it seriously. You can change your life now.

Let’s start with the first belief. You have already written this belief down on the first piece of paper; now ask yourself the following questions:
1- How is this belief ridiculous or absurd?
2- What negative consequences have you already experienced as a result of having this RIDICULOUS belief? What has it cost you emotionally, financially, physically, and in your relationships in the past, because of having this ABSURD belief?
3- What is it costing you now, emotionally, financially, physically, and in your relationships, because of having this WRONG belief?
4- What will it cost you emotionally, financially, physically, in your relationships, during the next 10 years, if you don’t let go of this belief now?

Write down everything that comes to your mind. Keep writing about all the pain you experienced in your past, all the pain you are experiencing right now, and all the pain you will be experiencing in the future if you don’t change this absurd belief now.

Make sure you feel as much pain as possible. Feel all the negative emotions associated with having this absurd belief. Close your eyes and visualize it, live it, feel it as if it were happening right now. I know this doesn’t sound very appealing, but believe me, you will be amazed at the results!

Once you are fully associated with the pain that having this belief has cost you and would have cost you your whole life, get the second piece of paper, and write down the new empowering belief that will take the place of the old one.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1- How will having this empowering belief affect my life?

2- What benefits will I get from having this empowering belief?

3- How will I feel and how will I act by having this empowering belief?

4- Where will I be in 10 years as a result of having this empowering belief?

5- Imagine yourself 10 years from now, and looking back at the last 10 years, how does it feel having lived with this empowering belief? Stay there for a while, feeling those great feelings.

While you are writing down each answer, make sure you fully associate with the positive feelings of having this empowering belief. Feel how much better your life is as a result of having this belief. Close your eyes and feel it in your body. How would you feel? How would you move? How would you breathe?
The key here is to experience as much pleasure as possible.

Now grab the first piece of paper containing your old beliefs, and burn it. As you see the paper burning, feel the old belief vanishing in your past, and feel the power of your new belief.

Congratulations! Feel grateful for having a great, empowering belief that will support you for the rest of your life.

Do the same with the next belief, and keep repeating until you finish replacing all your old beliefs.
This exercise was adapted from similar exercises by Anthony Robbins and Bob Proctor.