Belief Busting and Replacing
This is an amazingly powerful exercise to connect to what may be holding you back, especially when you’re not sure yourself what that belief may be.
This exercise taps into the subconscious that’s holding you back and the superconscious that’s giving you the dreams and ideas for a more expansive, happier life.
The best way to move forward in life is to get all parts of you working together. That’s what we’ll do here.
Step 1. Think of the specific goal you are wanting to reach right now. You can do this exercise for many goals, but work through them one at a time.
Step 2. Write out in your journal the following opening sentence, My fear of having that goal is….Now write out everything that comes to mind. Don’t force it or try to think logically, let this be a stream of consciousness writing, follow the thoughts, images, feelings and emotions that arise and write them all down. You can also use this sentence if you get stuck, If I have that goal, I fear….
Step 3. Circle the one that most affects you. When I was doing this recently, one massive fear came up for me which was that I would be breaking my family’s rules. And that one had my stomach twisting in knots. You’ll know which one to start with.
Step 4. Now ask, What does this fear want FOR me? What does this fear intend FOR me? How is this fear trying to serve me? Again, write out what comes up without judgement. Usually you’ll find the fear is trying to protect you in some way. Don’t forget, this fear was created when you were a child, so its a child’s response to a big scary world.
Step 5. Thank the fear rather than judging it. Thank it for looking after you so well, for doing all it could to keep you safe. Again, remember you’re thanking a part of you. Rejecting parts of yourself doesn’t help you move forward, you want to appreciate what the part was trying to do and then reintegrate it with you as you are now with your current goals and ambitions.
Step 6. Ask your superconscious to advise you on how you can have both the goal you want and the deeper desire that the fear has for you. For instance, my fear of breaking the family rules was trying to keep me safe from being rejected and being seen as an outcast. My goal to do well would keep me safe and I would be able to show my family that we didn’t have to play small to stay safe. The rules hadn’t worked and it was time to change them.
Step 7. Check in with both the goal and the deeper desire to make sure they are both on board with you taking new affirmative action.
Step 8. Write out a sentence, a mantra, an affirmation that connects both the goal and the deeper desire. Something that resonates within you and gives you a rush of enthusiasm and joy for bringing this goal and desire into your life.
Step 9. Test it out. Experiment with your mantra. Does it work when you’re facing avoidance or resistance building inside of you? Does your mantra melt the resistance away? That’s what you want. Keep tweaking your affirmation until it does that for you.
Love,
Cynthia xx