As I am building my empowerment coaching business, I often feel overwhelmed, lonely, and scared. I try to reach out to others – only to be met with resistance, possibly because others are just as scared and don’t feel comfortable admitting it. I am starting to learn that there are certain beliefs that trigger my fear and undermine my confidence. I find it helpful to write down the thoughts. Often bringing them out into the open like that is enough for me to be able to let them go.

So, here’s what I came up with (click on the thumbnail to see the full picture):

Yes, “You are not good enough!” is on both lists…

Today, that didn’t seem to be enough, though. I realized that I can do something similar to my worry burn: It was time to burn these beliefs. I wrote each one on individual pieces of paper:

And then burned them, saying the words (with the most potent belief as the example): “The belief ‘You are not good enough!’ is undermining my confidence / triggering my fear. It has got to go. Fire burn it!” As I dropped it into the water, I would say “Water dissolve it!”

Once they were all burned, I flushed them down the toilet!

Of course, I know that this doesn’t really destroy my beliefs. Sweat glands produce sweat; minds produce thoughts. This is a ritual reminder, though, that I can let go of them. I don’t have to believe everything I think!