We are all familiar with the concept of indulgence when it comes to feeling sorry for ourselves. It is easy to indulge in self-pity, complaining and blame. But there is another type of indulgence which often escapes our attention and that is indulging in our limiting beliefs about ourselves.
It is all too easy to hold ourselves back and not live life to the full because we believe that we are not very good at something. This is quite understandable because most of us form beliefs about ourselves at a very young age and as we get older we become unable to see that these beliefs are not who we are. We become so accustomed to believing something about ourselves that we think it is part of our nature – part of who we are.
Many people, for example, believe that they are not very creative. Although they may not be accomplished artists this does not mean they do not use creativity in their lives. Solving problems and feeding a family on a tight budget, for example, can involve a great deal of creative thinking.
Sometimes who we really are is so well hidden from us that the image of who we think we are contains a mere fraction of the abilities that exist in our potential.
If you are feeling stuck in life or feel that your limiting beliefs may be holding you back, it can be useful to look at where you are making assumptions about life or about yourself. This is part of the detective work which is often required in order to meet life’s challenges. For example have you assumed that you are not capable of earning enough money to live the life you would like? Or do you think you are not clever enough to be able to do something you’ve always wanted to do?
Indulgence is all about staying in a situation or a belief for longer than is necessary. Whenever we catch ourselves engaging in negative talk or negative feeling it can be useful to ask whether we have perhaps stayed longer than we needed to and whether it could be time to move on.
Next Chapter: Part Four: Development >>
*** This chapter is taken from my book The Light Within ***
