3 Small Ways to Reframe Your Limiting Beliefs Around Stress
These strategies can help shift your mindset and avoid burnout.
If you frequently feel overwhelmed or burned out, it might be because you have beliefs that are keeping you from managing your stress effectively, like equating taking breaks with laziness, or thinking you can just “power through.” These are limiting beliefs: thoughts or assumptions you think are the truth, which stop you from doing certain things. These limiting beliefs might be making your stress feel even more overwhelming than it needs to be –– but the good news is, you can replace these beliefs with positive ones that help shift your perspective.
Here are three small ways to reframe your limiting beliefs around stress:
Identify the belief that’s holding you back.
We have to first identify our limiting beliefs in order to reframe them. For example, one common belief is that burning out is the price we have to pay for success — even if we know deep down that we can’t show up as our best selves if we’re running on empty. We can replace this belief with a more positive one that sets us up to manage stress and build resilience. You can try saying “I’m at my best when I take care of myself."
Do an audit of your working hours and habits.
Sometimes, we get so used to the way we’ve been working for so long that we don’t stop to think that it might be time for a change. If you’re used to working from sunrise to sunset without a real lunch break, for example, or checking email when you get into bed, those habits are likely adding to your stress –– and reaffirming limiting beliefs around what success looks like. Doing an audit of your current habits can help you make tweaks to your schedule, shifting toward a way of working that prioritizes your well-being.
Recite an affirmation that helps you maintain perspective.
Stressful days are inevitable, but when we have affirmations to help keep our stress in perspective, it can help us reframe our limiting beliefs around that stress, and avoid it becoming cumulative. A couple affirmations that might help are, “Breaks are productive,” or “I am in control of my stress.” Find a mantra or a word that resonates with you, and repeat it to yourself when you feel stress start to build.