Set the page

Draw a vertical line down the middle of a new journal page to create two columns. Title the left column ‘Negative Cognitions’ and the right column ‘Positive Cognitions.’ 

Audit the inner critic

Now get quiet and listen to your inner voice as you do an internal audit of all negative self-talk. Notice the inner critic that questions, doubts, shames, or confines you. You can reference the New Beliefs List Examples pdf.

• In the left column, write a list of those negative beliefs. 
• In the right column, write the opposite — the positive, more expansive version of each belief. 
  • Use language that you can believe to be true right now — this is not about lying to yourself, it’s about shifting your perception. You can continue to push the boundaries of your language overtime. A good sign that your system accepts a statement to be true is when you can feel your body exhale with relief when you say the new belief. 

Speak it aloud

Practice speaking the new beliefs aloud, especially anytime you catch yourself thinking or speaking the old belief. This is a practice of interruption – interrupt your limiting thought patterns every chance you get:

• When you hear them in your mind: interrupt that inner voice by taking a breath and then speaking back to it with something like “excuse me, that's not true, can you please rephrase that?” And then say the new belief. 
• When speaking to other people: if you catch yourself speaking through a lens of your old belief, stop what you're saying and correct yourself aloud. 

*When you can, notice how your body feels as you speak the new beliefs (ex: relief, expansive, open, flowing, etc.). A physical connection via your emotions & sensations will help to reprogram your subconscious and reaffirm your new beliefs.

Take this further

• Reveal your limiting beliefs to someone close to you. The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves is rarely how others see us. It can be incredibly impactful to hear how shockingly inaccurate our beliefs are by looking through the eyes of someone else. 
• If you wish to better understand your old beliefs, consider asking yourself why you believe them. Question where the beliefs originate from – did someone once tell you that’s how something is done, or that’s who you are, for example? This is the start of shadow work. 
• Learn how to free yourself from the ego/inner voice that limits our consciousness and therefore reality in the book The Untethered Soul.