Dear Reader,
My letters to you will look a bit different this month because I’m going to spend the next few weeks writing on one topic: beliefs. Specifically, the ones we hold over ourselves.
Once upon a time, someone (or more than one someone) said something to you. Eventually, you decided to agree with that something. Once you agreed with that something, it became true in your mind.
Words are as powerful as we let them be.
Consider what those words are.
They may have come from your peers.
They may have come from something that was done to you.
Or how you were treated as a child.
Or social media.
Identifying those words/beliefs is the first step in taking away the power they have over you. It's often the hardest, too, because the longer we have them, the more they become like white noise. Sometimes we don't even realize they are running in the background. Yet, they influence what we do or don't do.
Here's an example:
"My legs are ugly," is a belief.
Although you may not consciously say those words, they show up when you avoid wearing shorts on a hot day.
This belief might have been formed when you compared your legs to other legs you've seen. Or maybe someone bullied you and made fun of your legs.
At some point, you decided to accept the belief that your legs were not beautiful. And now, you move differently because of that false belief.
Over this next week, keep a journal or a note on your phone. Whenever behaviors like these bubble up, write them down. Think about the words or beliefs that are influencing them. Reply to this email and share them with me.
Next week we'll talk through a few of them together (anonymously, of course). You'll see that not only are you not alone, but we also have the power to change those false beliefs.
Until next week,
Amber
