Are you aware of your self-defeating beliefs and how they impact your life?
I had a good eye opener this week when I was having 
dinner w
ith a couple of good friends. We got to talking about how we can so easily fall into the trap of perfectionistic thinking and trying too hard to be everything to everybody. That immediately led to talking about all the stress we feel and the self-defeating behaviors that come along with our irrational perfectionistic thinking!
Self-defeating beliefs are the thoughts, feelings, ideas, attitudes or ingrained ways of behaving that prevent us from growing and accomplishing the good stuff we want in our lives. Here is my list of our favorite self-defeating beliefs. See if you find any of your thoughts among them:
1. Perfectionist Beliefs. These are unrealistic expectations of being flawless. They lead to excessive pressure, frustration, and disappointment in self.
2. All or None Thinking. Black and white; win or lose; good or bad; – they all fall into the category of all or none thinking.Truth is…we are always somewhere in the middle!
3. Over-Generalization. This is where we use past events, sometimes even a single event, to define expectations for our future. It then becomes a self-defeating prophecy about what will happen in future: “I’ll never be thin” or “I’ll never be happy”.
4. Negative Self-Labels. These are harsh judgmental words we use to define ourselves as a person such as “fat”, “unworthy”, “not good enough” and “ugly”. Self-labels are some of the most destructive beliefs.
The funny thing about all these irrational thoughts…they are just that irrational. Not real, not true, not even close, but we just let them continue to hang around and hold us back.
Here is the REAL Skinny…I’m giving up my perfectionistic beliefs and I hope you will join me in giving up your own self-defeating beliefs! Stay aware and when you see one trying to rear its ugly head, shift to a more realistic and positive way of thinking! Your CORE will LOVE you for it!