And create a more positive mindset.

Constantly plagued by self-limiting beliefs? According to comedian and mental-health activist Jessica Jones, you might be in need of a perspective shift. In this chapter from her debut book Own It, Jones explains how to let go of unproductive thoughts and start believing in yourself instead.

Have you ever tried to unsubscribe from an email? Sometimes it’s super easy – one click and you never hear from them again. Other times, the directions are hidden at the bottom of the email in a font size that would be small even to an ant, and you have to click through, scroll down, click again, scroll up, type a reason, provide them with the DNA of your firstborn and a sacrificial lamb, and only then can you unsubscribe.

Unsubscribing from the limiting negative beliefs that you hold about yourself can feel a bit like this. Some beliefs will feel pretty easy to overcome – you are able to quickly identify the source of them, recognise the impact they are having, and switch your behaviour to accommodate a new, more positive way of thinking.

There will then be other beliefs that are really not so easy to move away from. They will be complicated and take more time to identify, process and unlearn.

So, how do you even begin to unlearn things that are etched into your mind and take up space without you even really thinking about it?

Well, once you have identified that these beliefs are there and you want to unsubscribe from them, the next step is to reframe them. Here’s how to do it.

Gather evidence against the old belief

Scour your brain for real-life examples that disprove the limiting beliefs floating around inside your own head.

For example, if addressing the belief “I am not capable”, I would think of as many things as possible that I once thought I wasn’t capable of – but that I then went on to achieve. These could include things such as being offered a dream job, passing an exam that I thought was above my level, or showing up when I didn’t think I could.

Ask “What if?”

Ask what the potential outcome would be if you reframed the limiting belief that you have in hand.

For example, if I didn’t believe that “life is hard”, how would I feel? In this case, I would feel happier, lighter and more able because I wouldn’t feel the pressure of things being so difficult. I would also move forward with more ease from situations that drag me down.

Question whether your belief about people applied to everyone

This can often make you realise that your thinking is lacking in logic.

For example, can all people really be “untrustworthy”? No. Otherwise nobody would have good relationships, and nobody would do anything or go anywhere. Yes, logically, it is true there are some untrustworthy people (and you may have encountered a few of them in your time), but it can’t apply to everyone.

Track positive change

One of the best ways to keep up momentum when it comes to reframing your limiting beliefs is by writing down all the times you have a more positive thought process or outcome as a result of this self-development work that you’ve been doing. You’re your own best case study, and you will find it easier to keep making changes when you see the firsthand evidence of your progress for yourself.

How to identify limiting beliefs

Jessica Jones outlines the process that helped her come to grips with her glass-half-empty approach to life.

Having issues with “feeling like I didn’t belong” meant I had borrowed, learnt and adopted so many limiting beliefs from other people that I couldn’t really have told you what I thought or felt for myself. So, I started writing them down to try to get some clarity.

I wrote the following headers at the top of a page: “I am”, “Life is” and “People are”. And I then went about finishing each of these sentences time and time again. Here are examples of what I wrote: “I am not capable”, “Life is hard” and“People are untrustworthy”.

Being able to see the patterns in my statements was a great starting point from which to begin unsubscribing from them one at a time, and then reframe them as lighter, more positive and liberating beliefs that could be newly subscribed to.