What is stopping you from moving forward?

Do you continually have the same issues come up over and over again in your life?

We throughout our day, running through our daily routine, fulfilling expectations and obligations, doing the best we can madly chasing our dream and we feel frustrated at the end of the day because we don’t know why we can’t seem to achieve the results that we want.  Most of us don’t realize that we are thinking the same negative thought patterns over and over again throughout our entire day which are stopping us from achieving what we truly want in life.

Have you ever written a letter to your past self?  This is an amazing tool that I learned from my coach Brooke Castillo and have been using with my clients to uncover their limiting beliefs.  We’re all in this together which means I’ve used this tool too!

How To Uncover Limiting Beliefs And Make Them Work For You

I’ve done A LOT of work on myself over the past few years and even so I am STILL BEATING MYSELF UP!

Here is what I wrote to my past self.

Dear Vanessa

I’m disappointed because…..

… you beat yourself up.

… you mistreated your body, you didn’t deserve to be mistreated.

… you were hiding your anxiety and depression for so long.  You could have reached out for help but you didn’t think you deserved it.

… you weren’t more present with your stepmom in her last year of life.  You tried to be strong for everyone else but you only wanted to hide from her.

… you didn’t enjoy your childhood and blamed it all on the fact that your parents were divorced.

… you mistreated your past relationships.

… you didn’t feel like you deserved to be in good long lasting relationships.  You wanted to be abandoned every time.

… you took your frustration out on all your relationships, even Barley.

 

I’m frustrated because…..

… you were not patient with yourself.

… you forgot some past conversations with other people.

… you tried to be right and caused yourself to lose energy from it.

 

I am sad because…..

… you felt like you can never have best friends.

… the Mastermind you tried to create didn’t work out.

… you judged others for not listening to you and trying to better their health.

 

I wish…..

… you didn’t cause yourself so much unnecessary pain and suffering.

… you were more in presence with Glen.

… you had fuller volume hair.

… you didn’t have bags under your eyes.  

… you slept more.

… your thoughts would slow down so your speaking can catch up to it.

 

I’m sorry that……

… you felt alone and didn’t know how to handle it.

… you were hiding from living your life.

… you didn’t stay true to yourself, to your desires and dreams.

 

I love you because……

… you did the best you could with what you knew.

… you picked yourself up off the ground every time.

… you didn’t kill yourself. You chose to exist.

… everything you did was meant to be part of your existence here on earth.

… you caused yourself unnecessary suffering but you learned, applied and used the knowledge you gained to help others.

… you cared so much for everyone in your life and had the best intentions for all.

… you forgave yourself and your parents.

… you embraced change.

… you learned how to manage your mind and emotions.

… you learned how to keep your power and gain your energy back.

… you made an impact in your own way.

… you learned how to not feel suffocated and chose to live in freedom.

… you didn’t give up on yourself with Glen and did the work to love him with all your heart without holding back.

… you were a risk taker.

Can you relate to any of this?  Now your turn!

What you want to do with your letter is to observe what you wrote as just thoughts which are only sentences in our head.  These thought patterns have been programmed in your brain over time which might explain why some of them seem so true for you.

The reasons why you feel frustrated, disappointed, sad, wishful and sorry are creating your current negative results in your life.

They do not define you if you don’t want them to.

What you want to do with those negative thoughts or limiting beliefs is to test them out and question them.

For each thought ask yourself the following questions:

• How does this thought serve me?
• How can I use this?
• How is this perfect?
• What can I do that comes from peace, is for me, and is not trying to change or fix anything?
• How can I accept this with grace?

The thoughts or reasons you had for “I love you because…” are the thoughts you want to keep practicing (double check they make you feel good) in order to move towards your desired outcomes and dreams.

Are you ready to stop overthinking and start taking control of your life? Start with this Self-Awareness Guide to Mental Clarity.