Break the cycle of muscle memory.

In this post, you will:

• How muscle memory in our thoughts can be used to build identity.

• Learn how to break the power of limiting beliefs.

In the last couple of blog posts, we discussed some of the building blocks that contribute to the formation of our identity. So far, we looked at seeking evidence of the truth and acting according to the truth. In this blog post, we will discuss breaking the cycle of muscle memory. All to some degree struggle with insecurities and limiting beliefs that negatively influence the way we see ourselves or our identity. These limiting beliefs tend to be like a movie reel that starts playing when we are triggered by something that someone says or by something that happens to us. Although you know and believe that you have value, when someone that you care about says that you are not good enough it may trigger a limiting belief that wants to convince you that what this person is saying is in fact true. Or you step out to apply for a job and the interview goes badly, you struggle to find the right words, you become flustered and as you walk out limiting beliefs flood your headspace to try and convince you that you do not have value. These are just examples but there are hundreds if not millions of other examples and scenarios of triggers that can bring limiting beliefs to the forefront.

To combat this, we need to interrupt the movie reel of perceived evidence that convinces us of the limiting belief. And this is where breaking the cycle of muscle memory comes in. Like with exercise and other repetitive skills or practices, we build up muscle memory that assists us in the future to excel at certain activities. It is like automation that goes off in your brain that helps you to perform certain tasks more effectively. While muscle memory can be wonderful to catch a ball or perform while speaking in public, it can be detrimental to our identity when we have built the wrong muscle memory. I don’t know about you, but I tend to ask why, why would my brain store up muscle memory that will have a negative effect on me. Your subconscious is actually trying to help you, which is a primary function of survival. It comes down to the fight or flight reaction which is rooted in basic survival. These reactions, while surviving in the moment, are not, however, always helpful nor productive to our identity over the long run. And just like we trained our brain to play a certain movie reel to protect us in that moment, we need to retrain our brain to draw on more helpful and constructive ways of survival that will assist us.

The first step is to break the cycle of muscle memory and then retrain our mind to seek more helpful truths. To do this we need to identify the limiting belief and the trigger. For example, the limiting belief may be around value, the trigger; or the opinion of those around you. This is a crucial awareness and should not be taken lightly. Awareness is a big step toward victory and growth. Once the limiting belief and trigger is identified we want to interrupt the cycle of muscle memory by the word stop followed by an affirmation that is linked to the truth. For example, the moment you realise that the movie reel of the limiting belief is activated saying the word stop interrupts the cycle. If you back it up with an affirmation of truth, you have started retraining your brain to draw on healthy beliefs linked to your true identity. An affirmation can be anything that highlights the truth, it can be a sentence, bible verse, or even lyrics from a song. Whatever it is, it should confirm and affirm the truth. The key is to keep it simple.

Coach U

In our previous posts, we looked at uncovering limiting beliefs and creating affirmations. For this week the Coach U questions, we will focus on practicing the breaking the cycle of muscle memory exercise.

Every evening before you go to sleep verbally proclaim the three big affirmations that you have come up with. Repeat this in the morning before you start with your activities. We do this because we are training our minds to be ready to recall our affirmations when trouble starts. Do this at least for 30 days.

Practice saying stop every time a limiting belief pops into your mind and recall the affirmation. Continue to do this until your mind automatically recalls the affirmation.

We would love to get some examples of affirmations that are helpful to you. Please write some out in the comments below.

Disclaimer Policy: All True-Potential publications are written to assist with growth and discovery, the content of this publication should be used according to our disclaimer policy. Please refer to our disclaimer policy for more information.

© 2023 Ivan Venter, All Rights Reserved.

#truepotential #coachivanventer #christiancoaching #identity

Photo by Fuu J on Unsplash