Do they sometimes make it seem like you are never going to get past them?

Are you even aware of where they are really coming from?

Throughout my life I have discovered that the biggest hurdle to actually getting rid of these blocks is to fully understand their origins.

Some people don’t know where they want to go which makes it hard to know where to start.

Even if we have a destination in mind, if we don’t know where we currently stand and where things have gone awry in the past, it’s like trying to navigate a ship without a map or a compass.

For me, and many others they stem back to some well meant but not helpful people, events or situations, often right back in our childhood.

Whilst we don’t consciously remember the individual incidents, the subconscious brain has it stored away and each time the event is repeated in a similar form it strengthens the unhelpful neural pathway that has been set up.

Sometimes these things can be as simple as a comment made by a parent such as “eat all of your food, there are people starving in the world you know”. I know this is one I heard over and over in my childhood and even though eating all of my food wasn’t going to stop them from starving at all, I learnt to clear my plate. Something that I have since learnt wasn’t at all helpful to my weight loss goals.

Many parents also tell their children that if you want to get ahead you have to work hard and often long hours each day. This is also unhelpful but well meant. From this we learn to put our employer above ourselves and our families. What they perhaps could say instead is “Work smarter not harder” or “Make your money work for you”.

Have you ever noticed how certain beliefs from our upbringing can subtly sabotage our success?

Another example, something my parents often said when someone was rich, they must be ripping off poorer people to get there. I understand now that they genuinely believed this. But what it instilled in me was a pattern of self-sabotage.

Whenever I began to accumulate some savings, I would find a “reason” to spend it. Of course, these weren’t genuine necessities, but rather excuses to part with my money. Deep down, I didn’t want to be seen as the evil person taking advantage of others.

It’s fascinating how these ingrained beliefs can shape our actions without us even realising it.