What Is an ANT? Understanding Automatic Negative Thoughts
The only way to stomp ANTs is to create new positive beliefs to replace the old negatives! And, it does NOT matter if you believe these new positive beliefs at first. Just last week one of the entrepreneurs I’m working with on a personal basis asked me why he could “never seem to get ahead financially.” “I’ve done everything all the self-help books tell me to do,” Edward explained. “I’ve set goals, I’ve visualized, I’ve gone to one seminar after another… but I still can’t seem to get any more money in my life.”
Edward’s Story: When Positive Actions Can’t Overcome Negative Beliefs
“Tell me,” I asked, “Why do you have such a problem with money?” This kind of open, probing dialogue is exactly what how two-way conversations build prospect rapport—and it works just as powerfully when you’re coaching someone through their own limiting beliefs.
“Don’t know,” he replied.
“OK,” I continued. “Tell me what you BELIEVE to be true about having more money in your life.”
Here’s his list of beliefs about having more money in his life: I just can’t seem to make any more money… I’ve hit my peak financially… It’s hard to make money… The rich get richer…and the poor get poorer… I really CAN get along OK without more money… The IRS will just take it anyway… I don’t want to sell my soul…
Many people will agree with his list. So what’s wrong here? Edward (not his real name) says he wants more money in his life. He keeps on taking actions intended to create more money. But each attempt just falls flat— one after the other. This has gone on for years. In fact, Edward has spent more money “trying to make money” that he has earned. So where has he gone wrong? The same gap between intention and action shows up in prospecting too—if you’re struggling with people who commit but don’t follow through, learning how to stop prospects from ghosting your appointments can make a real difference. This is exactly why understanding the proper paradigms every MLM distributor must build is so critical—without the right internal framework, even the best strategies fall flat.
The Root Cause: When Your Beliefs Contradict Your Goals
Here’s the BASIC PROBLEM: Edward’s internal *beliefs* about money are “running the show.” And his beliefs do NOT support his desire for more money in his life. In fact, his beliefs actually negate his desires. This is exactly why understanding the proper paradigms every MLM distributor must build is so critical—without the right internal framework, even the best strategies fall flat.
How Subconscious Beliefs Silently Sabotage Your Success
You have a set of beliefs and assumptions for every area of your life: From money … to success, relationships, body image, you name it. And most of these beliefs go way back into your childhood. “So what?” you ask.
Why We Never Question the Beliefs That Hold Us Back
The very nature of our beliefs is that we do truly BELIEVE them to be true. In fact, we automatically assume they’re true without even thinking about it. That’s the nature of a “belief.”
Edward revealed that he BELIEVES he would have to “sell his soul” to get more money in his life, and the “IRS would just take it anyway.” And he also believes he has “hit his peak financially” … and “really can get along without more money.” Does that sound like a set of beliefs that would support a desire to have more money in one’s life? Understanding how core desires fuel real MLM motivation and income reveals just how deeply these hidden beliefs can sabotage even the strongest financial ambitions.
Have you examined your subconscious beliefs about what you “say” YOU want to create in YOUR life? The power of our beliefs It’s a funny thing about beliefs. Most of us are willing to scrutinize all aspects of ourselves— but we usually get super defensive if someone (even our self) questions our beliefs. Why? Because… we assume our beliefs are “beyond question.” So they remain unquestioned, and usually just run right over any goal that goes against them. This is especially true in network marketing, where you must build mental toughness to handle rejection before 10 principles to reach the top of your payplan limiting beliefs can derail your progress. Once you understand how these beliefs shape your financial reality, it’s worth studying the financial equation that builds lasting freedom—because mindset alone isn’t enough without the right financial framework to support it.
Bringing Hidden Beliefs Into the Light: Edward’s Breakthrough
Edward’s financial goals definitely fly in the face of his beliefs. And in fact, he had unwittingly used his beliefs against himself for years. Once we pulled Edward’s beliefs out into the daylight of his rational conscious mind, they lost a good deal of their power. And now a whole new thing is happening. He began to seriously use visualization and subliminal programming to FIRST renovate his beliefs about money. And guess what- he is now making previously “impossible” financial progress! If you’re ready to build on that kind of mindset shift, explore the 10 principles to reach the top of your payplan and put your renewed beliefs into action.
Neuroscience in Action: How a Single Thought Can Override a Limiting Belief
I discovered the science behind how a thought can overcome a belief when I first began to use biofeedback in a clinical environment. I especially recall the wife of a prominent local surgeon. She came to me hoping biofeedback would provide some relief from her crippling back pain. Mrs. Robins (not her real name) had been in an especially nasty high speed car crash three years earlier. She had wrenched her back, but miraculously not broken any bones. But her back pain had never healed.
A Clinical Case Study: Healing Chronic Back Pain Through Thought
She hobbled into the clinic leaning heavily on a cane. Her husband was recommending surgery, and she was only “trying” biofeedback on a whim. In the first session we discovered her “belief” that she would never heal from the trauma (her best friend had died in the crash.)
I attached sensors to her back, and we both observed the muscle-related EMG spikes when she painfully attempted to move her legs. So, I then hooked up sensors to her arm, and had her first tense and then relax, her muscles. She clearly saw and understood the difference between relaxed and tensed on the computer screen. Then I suggested that her back pain “might” be muscle bracing that had become a chronic habit— and proposed an experiment in which she would just *think* about allowing her back to relax. We placed sensors on her back again and I turned the screen away from her as she began to “think” about allowing her back to relax. Sure enough, the spikes reduced dramatically. When I rotated the screen so she could see it, her jaw dropped.
What Mrs. Robins’ Recovery Proves About the Power of Thought
The power of her thoughts HAD immediately reduced the muscle spasms in her back. I asked her how her back felt. She was even more amazed. It had begun to warm as her circulation was beginning to be restored. After only three biofeedback sessions, she was able to release her muscle spasms with a single thought. And a few weeks later the cane was gone. She considered herself totally “cured.” Actually— what had happened is that she cured herself from a crippling belief (“I don’t think I’ll ever heal”) with a single powerful THOUGHT (“It’s OK to relax the muscle spasms in my back.”)
Old beliefs CAN be replaced with success-affirming positive thoughts. Once you’ve cleared those mental blocks, you’re ready to apply the best prospecting formula for a positive mindset and turn that renewed belief into real results.
How to Stomp ANTs and Replace Automatic Negative Thoughts With Positive Beliefs
But replacing those old beliefs will require dealing with the ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts) that are attached to those beliefs. If you do have limiting beliefs, those ANTs will constantly reinforce that belief. The only way to stomp ANTs is to create new positive beliefs to replace the old negatives! It does NOT matter if you believe these new positive beliefs at first. When you commit to this process consistently, you begin to unlock the full power of your mind in ways that transform every area of your life.
Why Repetition Is the Key to Reprogramming Your Subconscious Mind
Go ahead and read that sentence again! Your mind is a creature of habit.
The more often you consciously focus on your new positive beliefs, the faster they will be taken into your subconscious mind and replace your old limiting beliefs!
Do a Mental House-Cleaning: Let Go of the Beliefs That Limit You
Do a mental house-cleaning and get rid of those ANTs! All you have to lose are your old limitations! And once those limitations are gone, you’ll be ready to reach your warm market without fear or pressure.