How to Change Self-Defeating Thinking Habits

Author Wayne Dyer on Ways to Stop Self-Destructive Thoughts

Mar 18, 2009

Dr. Wayne Dyer's latest book, Excuses Begone! will help you rid yourself of self-limiting thinking that is preventing you from reaching your full potential.

Dr. Wayne Dyer's Excuses Begone! How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits (Hay House 2009) is the latest inspiring personal growth book by the popular self-help guru who's known for his appearances appearing on public television.

Following the success of Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life, Excuses Begone! deftly pinpoints the common excuses people utilize in rationalizing why they've failed to realize their dreams.

Excuses and Negative Thinking

Dr. Dyer identifies 18 excuses that people often use to blame others for imperfections in their lives.

An array of excuses used to avoid committing to a dream are captured in Dyer's book, such as "I can't afford it," "I'm too old," and "I don't deserve it." With the swift, sure blade of a surgeon, Dyer cuts to the heart of each reason for failing to follow one's dream, which he attributes to misalignment with life purpose – the God within each person.

Dyer likens these self-limiting beliefs assimilated early in life and passed on from generation to generation to a virus, which replicates and spreads to others in close proximity. Referencing recent scientific research indicating that beliefs affect biology as much or more than inherited DNA, Dyer eliminates the oft-used self-limitation, "That's just who I am, I've always been that way and so was my father (mother)."

Personal Growth Via Beliefs

The striking relevance of this research is that it confirms the wisdom of many spiritual and philosophical leaders who've taught that anything is possible; there are no limitations other than those self-placed.

Dyer describes the law of attraction from a new perspective: You attract what you are and what you are is what you believe. Change your beliefs and you change who you are, attracting that which you believe.

Addressing the thinking and speaking of many people, Dyer claims that any thought patterns that do not expand a person's development are simply excuses for not growing. This is not a message that some will want to hear as there is a level of comfort in blaming circumstances, parents, bosses, and spouses for personal shortcomings.

Changing Self-Limiting Beliefs

Dyer defines seven principles for changing the habit of self-defeating thinking to new ways of thinking that allow you to expand to be your best. These are:

Dyer rounds out Excuses Begone! with seven tips for eliminating excuses, followed by seven questions to ask that will help you identify the root of your deeply embedded self-limiting beliefs.

If you're dissatisfied with your life and ready for change, Excuses Begone! is the ideal manual for step-by-step elimination of the limits you're putting on your own growth and development.

Excuses Begone! will help you free yourself from negative, limiting thinking, allowing you to further your personal growth and development through the many articles and books referenced here in Personal Development.

Excuses Begone! is scheduled for publication on May 26, 2009 and is available for pre-order from internet book sellers.

Who is Dr. Wayne W. Dyer?

Dyer is an internationally-known personal development author and speaker. He has written more than thirty books, including The Power of Intentions and Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life, and has appeared in countless radio and television programs. Dyer's personal development lectures are often featured on Public Broadcasting System's fund-raising programs.

The copyright of the article How to Change Self-Defeating Thinking Habits in Spiritual Growth is owned by Jerry Lopper. Permission to republish How to Change Self-Defeating Thinking Habits in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.