Arleen Bradley Career Coaching

Sound like you?

Do any of these statements sound familiar?  I’ll never get a job.  There are too many people out there looking.  There are no jobs.  I don’t know the right people.

The above statements are limiting beliefs.  They are sabotaging many job searchers. Those statements are wrong but seem real to the owner.   Statements like this prevent the owner from going forward.  They are sabotaging the job search.

How did the owner come to these limiting beliefs?  They came from where all limiting beliefs come from family, friends, media, teachers, lack of knowledge, and inaccurate information.  Take a look at these two scenarios.

Limiting beliefs are learned.

You see a hot stove but and you don’t touch the surface because you know you could get burnt and it hurts. You meet my husband for the first time and find out he is a math professor, you tell him that you are not good in math.  The first statement is true because it is a fact.  Being burnt hurts was something you learned from experience or were taught.  The second is something that is a learned belief.  You didn’t understand one point, and that leads you to think all math is difficult.  But did it occur to you that the person showing you didn’t teach it properly; maybe you were going through a difficulty that prevented you from concentrating.  Something else to consider, you are trying to fit in with your peer group.  This group thinks it’s ok to not to like math, so you don’t like it, too.  Another idea, your ancestors had limited education and always said math was a problem for them.  You heard this from many family members.

There is a story about a young bride who was learning to cook a ham by her mother.  The first thing the mother stressed the ends are cut off.  The bride questioned her mother as to why and the reason was that her mother did the same thing.  When asked, the grandmother said that early on, she didn’t have a large enough pan to cook the whole ham.

An elephant never forgets.

Another story:  the elephant is a huge, powerful animal that will stay put and not try to leave when chained to a stake.  The reason is, as an infant, the elephant was tied to that stake but was unable to break the chain. The behavior learned as a baby elephant carried through to adulthood and the elephant believes that he is no match for the chain and spike.

Limiting beliefs sabotage your efforts.  If you really believe can’t do something, you won’t even try.  Any mistake along the way and you point to the fact that you knew you could not do it. This prevents you from moving forward.  You can also project your limiting beliefs on to other people.  You think they see you in the same way you see yourself.  When in actuality, they don’t, they think you are capable and a likeable person.

To be continued….

Next week I will show you how to identify your limiting beliefs.  After you identify your limiting beliefs, you can then start working to change them and start living the life you are meant to live.

Arleen Bradley is has two certifications in career coaching and certification in the Job-Loss Recovery Program .  She assists clients in moving beyond job loss grief in order to land dream jobs using the Job-Loss Recovery Program.  The Job-Loss Recovery Program uses guided imagery to achieve results. To learn more about it and how you can benefit from it, log on to   www.arleenbradley.com.

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