What is a “thought virus”?
It is a limiting belief. Any belief you hold that limits your ability to enjoy life, to live your life to your fullest potential, and perform to your best, is a thought virus.
Limiting beliefs are like computer viruses. They can sit dormant inside our belief systems until a certain cue, a certain situation, or stimulus triggers them. Once triggered, a limiting belief can interfere with the full use of our abilities and ultimate potential, causing us to hold back or engage in self-sabotaging behaviors.
Low self-esteem can be thought of as a thought virus, a devastating limiting belief. When limiting beliefs are activated, “we constrict our energy and lose access to our skills and resourcefulness… we experience a constriction of our energy and our performance, our well-being and health suffer.” (“The Extraordinary Within,” by Donn Smith, quoting Robert Dilts, NLP trainer.)
The good news is that we can “de-bug” ourselves. We have the ability to use our self-consciousness, our awareness, to reprogram ourselves, to create new programs that represent who we truly are and give us full access to our abilities, energy, and potential.