I am going to tell a few stories today about my week and the insights that I had. Several weeks ago I made a birthday cake for my son. I actually made the cake three times and each time it turned out flat, flat, flat. Frosting between the layers and on the top and sides can hide a multitude of sins. For those of you who know me, you know that I love to cook and bake and am usually quite successful. This recipe was simple, but for some reason it didn’t turn out. The only thing I can think of was that I wasn’t able to beat enough air into the batter with my hand mixer to create the proper volume.
For 30 years my husband has asked me if I wanted a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and I have said that I was fine with my hand mixer and I didn’t need a fancy (translation – expensive) mixer. On Tuesday I went to a store to look for a strainer because the handle fell off mine. I noticed a display of Kitchen Aid mixers and looked at the various models and thought that I really would like one.
As I turned to leave I noticed a center aisle display of the mixers with a sign on top – was $299.99. Then there was an electronic sign on top of the boxes that said $139.99, but had a description of a pet vacuum beneath the sale price. I asked an associate which price was correct because I thought it might just have the wrong description beneath the sale price. Turns out they weren’t on sale, but he said that since the display was mis-marked I could have it for the sale price! I quickly picked out my mixer and went to check out. In addition, I had a coupon for 15% off my purchase, so I ended up getting the mixer for $118!
What I realized as I was driving home was that I had held a hidden belief for the past 30 years that only people with a lot of money could have a Kitchen Aid mixer and that I should settle for a hand mixer because I didn’t really need a big deal mixer or maybe didn’t deserve one. I know those thoughts are illogical and yet they were subconscious beliefs.
The past few weeks I have been actively looking at my hidden beliefs and recognizing them as they occur. Look how quickly I manifested my new mixer once I decided I really wanted one and could in fact have one. And, when I got home I took my new mixer out of the box and baked a cake! In the past I might have left it in the box for a few days to decide if I should really keep it or not. I not only used it, but have been telling everyone about my deal and letting myself revel in my shiny new mixer and feel the joy of having something I really have wanted for years.
The next thing that happened is that I went shopping for a new sweater for the fall. I found one that was the color I wanted, the style I wanted and it fit. It was on sale for 50% off for that day only. And, I had a gift card for eleven cents more than the total cost of the sweater! It was like getting it for free. A week of abundance coming my way!
It sounds like I am quite the shopper and there isn’t much that is further from the truth. A third thing happened the following day when I was returning a cord at the phone store. I have some long black boots that are similar to the style that is popular today, but I was feeling a bit self-conscious wearing them because they might not really be ok. My son’s fiancee assured me that they were great. I was not convinced, but wore them anyway. As we were standing in line, one of the associates came up to me and excused herself for interrupting our conversation. She asked where I got my boots because they are exactly what she is looking for. I laughed and told her that I have had them for 30 years and bought them in Madison. Part of the aha is that we are often so critical of ourselves for no reason. We have let our confidence fade and forget to jump back in and reclaim it.
These are simple examples and yet they can be applied to many areas in life. Our self-limiting beliefs can slow us down at work, in relationships, in the finding of what we truly want to do in life, and the list goes on and on. My examples came one right after another so that I couldn’t miss the impact of them. I love when that happens!
So, the question is, what are some of your hidden beliefs that may be slowing you down? They don’t have to make sense. In fact, they won’t likely be logical. Notice what you tell yourself when you are justifying something. Notice what you might be resisting. Resistance is a clue for you to begin paying attention to what you are feeling and thinking. What if you let go of some of those inner beliefs? What wonderful things do you think you might do?
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