Key to Freedom: Letting Go of Limiting Beliefs and Labels

The Hidden Key to Growth

This year, something shifted in me.
One by one, the things I had been asking for—opportunities, connections, and experiences—started to arrive.

At first, I was surprised. Why now? What had changed?

After reflecting, I realized the difference wasn’t in the world around me.
The difference was in how I saw myself. The labels that I put. My beliefs.

The Limiting Beliefs : Invisible Labels

For years, I had been defining myself through quiet, almost invisible labels:

• “I’m not the type of person who can do small talk.”

• “That’s so me.”

• “That’s not me.”

We all do this. We carry labels like badges of identity:

• The responsible one

• The shy one

• The over-thinker

• The perfectionist

At first, these labels feel comforting. They give us a sense of who we are. But over time, they box us in.
Without realizing it, we begin to live life through a script.
We don’t explore, because “that’s not who I am.”
We don’t try, because “I’m just not that type of person.”
We don’t grow, because we’re too busy reinforcing the very walls that keep us small.

These labels don’t just describe us. They often limit us.

Labels Shape the Subconscious Mind

Although labels aren’t harmless, each time we repeat “I can’t” or “That’s not me,” the subconscious mind stores these as programs. The brain strengthens neural pathways around them, making the belief feel truer each time it’s reinforced.

That’s why change feels so hard—we’re not just fighting habits, we’re working against ingrained identities.

The good news is: the brain is flexible. With awareness and practice, we can unwire old patterns and rewire new ones.
This is where practices like hypnotherapy and guided subconscious work come in. They help us notice the old scripts and gently rewrite them, opening the door for fresh possibilities.

Cultivating an Open Mind: Embracing New Opportunities

In yoga philosophy, there’s a beautiful word for this practice of loosening labels: Vairāgya.

Often translated as detachment, it doesn’t mean not caring, or being cold or disconnected.
True detachment is about releasing the grip of expectations, identities, and labels—so we can meet life as it is.

It’s choosing presence over performance.
Possibility over certainty.

And in yoga practice, this shows up in simple ways. You don’t come to the mat to perform or prove anything—you come to practice. To wobble, fall, laugh, and try again. Growth doesn’t happen in perfection, it happens in mistakes.

Impermanence: Remembering That Everything Changes

Another truth in yoga philosophy is impermanence—everything is always shifting.
Our habits, our emotions, even our identities are not fixed.

When we attach tightly to labels, we forget this truth. We try to make something permanent in a world that is constantly moving.

But when we allow ourselves to release labels, we step into flow.
We can meet change with curiosity instead of fear.

The Freedom of Mistakes & Exploration

The turning point for me came when I started to let go of labels.
Not overnight. Not perfectly. But little by little, I began to loosen my grip on who I thought I had to be.

And something started to shift, conversations became lighter, new opportunities appeared, and I felt more curious, more open, more alive. By allowing myself to try—even when I thought, “This is so not me”—I discovered new sides of myself and a bigger life than I ever imagined. Mistakes didn’t break me. They expanded me.

Loosening The Grip of Limiting Beliefs.

If you’ve been feeling stuck, this practice can help you uncover the labels and habits that keep you repeating the same patterns.

1. What are the patterns I keep repeating in my life?
   Write down 3–5 habits you often repeat.
   e.g.: "I say Yes, even I don't want to" or “I often avoid social gathering and talk to new people."

2. What identity or label am I protecting by doing this?
   Look for the identity hidden underneath.
   e.g. 1: “I say yes because I don’t want to be seen as selfish.”
   Label = the kind one / the helpful one / the people pleaser.
   e.g. 2: "I avoid because I feel awkward when I meet new people and I can't do small talk.”
   Label = the awkward / the perfect one / the not good enough person.
   

3. How does this habit keep me small? What opportunities am I missing because of it?
   e.g.: I don't have time for myself and do what I really want to do.
   : My circle and opportunities are limited.
   

4. What would happen if I stopped identifying with this label?
   Choose one label and imagine loosening your grip. Not erasing it—just softening, a gentle release.
   Imagine the person you become, when you release that beliefs and feel it as if you're that person.
   e.g.: I’ve had the chance to meet many inspiring people—and in the process, I’ve also learned to become an inspiring person myself. Not because I had all the answers, but because I began to feel at ease with any kind of conversation. When I’m comfortable, the people I talk to feel comfortable too. Sometimes I still feel awkward, sometimes I feel judged—and that’s okay. People will always have opinions. How they see me is their story, not mine. I’m surrounded with people who values growth and empower each other.
   

5. Repeat that before you go to sleep and/or just after you wake up and open your eyes, everyday.

Just Being To Becoming

At its heart, being human isn’t about fixing ourselves into roles or titles.
It’s about Just Being—so we can truly Become.

When we allow ourselves to simply be—without labels, without judgment—we create the space to evolve, to surprise ourselves, and to discover parts of us we didn’t know existed. And yet, sometimes we get caught in patterns. We change our habits, but if the intention behind them stays the same, the pattern repeats itself. The shift begins with awareness. With noticing. With letting go of the labels that keep us stuck. Because only when we allow ourselves to Just Be, do we finally create room for who we’re meant to Become.

You Are Something Far Greater

If you’ve been feeling stuck, ask yourself:

• What labels am I holding onto?

• What patterns am I repeating?

• What would happen if I let them go?

You may find that the box you thought kept you safe is the same one keeping you small. When you loosen the grip of those labels, life opens in ways you never imagined.

You are not your labels. You are not your patterns.
You are something far greater: a living, breathing work in progress. And that is the beauty of being human.