How to improve belief in your abilities

Our beliefs (as in the rules we choose to live by, not our religious beliefs) are like commands that tell us how things are, what is possible and impossible and what we can and can't do. Our beliefs can shape every action, thought and feeling we have about ourselves and we act as if they are true.

The beliefs we have are formed from our experiences: the child who is told they can do anything in life and is constantly praised and encouraged, is likely to grow up to believe they can, whereas the child who is constantly told they are stupid, ugly and will never achieve anything, will probably grow up to believe this to be true.

Anthony Robins, acclaimed self-help guru, says: "It is never the environment or events in our lives which develop our beliefs but the meaning we attach to the events and how we interpret them that shape whom we are today and who we will be tomorrow."

Here are some tips on how to identify and challenge your own negative beliefs in order to feel more confident in your abilities:

• Write down any negative phrases you use about yourself on a regular basis: 'I'm no good at...' 'Others are better than me...' 'I'm too old...' Such beliefs can trigger a huge range of negative thoughts about yourself and it can make it difficult to make changes in your life in order to achieve goals and move on.

• Take each of your negative statements in turn and ask yourself the following questions: What is it about this situation that makes me feel like this? Is there any evidence to back up my fears? Could I be making wrong assumptions about myself, the situation or other people? Have I been in this situation before and, if so, how did I deal with it? What action can I take now to change the situation?

In order to change any self-limiting beliefs you need to believe three things:

1- You can develop the mindset that it IS possible to achieve them.
2- That you have the ability and capability to achieve them.
3- That you deserve to achieve them.

The benefits of developing a more positive attitude and way of thinking and believing are empowering and can be the difference between pessimism and optimism, failure and success and unhappiness and happiness.

So what negative belief about yourself can YOU start to change today?!