Embracing Change: Breaking Free from Limiting Beliefs with Santana Inniss

An Intimate Conversation with Women of Color

Embracing Change: Breaking Free from Limiting Beliefs

Episode 148

This podcast episode delves into the importance of challenging limiting beliefs for women of color to unlock their full potential. Santana Innis, a master certified coach, discusses the significance of identifying and questioning these beliefs.

One common limiting belief Santana mentions is the notion that women of color must work twice as hard to achieve half as much. This belief stems from experiences of discrimination and inequality, particularly in the workplace. However, Santana emphasizes that this belief is not inherent or true; it is a belief system that can be challenged and changed.

To challenge limiting beliefs, Santana suggests first identifying them. Women of color need to recognize beliefs that may hinder their progress, such as feelings of unworthiness or doubts about their capabilities. Once identified, it is important to explore the origins of these beliefs. Santana encourages individuals to examine why they hold these beliefs and how societal expectations or personal experiences have influenced them.

Santana also highlights the importance of acknowledging the fear and vulnerability associated with challenging these beliefs.

By challenging and freeing themselves from limiting beliefs, women of color can tap into their power and embrace their worthiness and capabilities. This process involves self-reflection, self-compassion, and a willingness to question and let go of beliefs that no longer serve them. Ultimately, by challenging these beliefs, women of color can create new narratives and pathways that align with their true potential and aspirations.

This episode covers:

[00:05:31] A journey of mindfulness.

[00:19:02] Limiting beliefs and self-doubt.

[00:23:09] Confirmation bias and cognitive brain science.

[00:27:17-00:27:28] Taking a pause for opportunity.

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Do you want more out of life? Are you ready to live boldly in pursuit of your dreams?

Today’s episode sponsor is Deneen L. Garrett LLC. Deneen, Founder & CEO, is a Passionate, Innovative, Executioner (P.I.E.) who elevates the voices of women of color and empowers them to Live a Dream Lifestyle™ through podcasting, speaking and coaching.

Deneen is a Women’s Motivational Speaker, the Creator & Host of the Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation (formerly An Intimate Conversation with Women of Color) Podcast, which she launched in 2020 and a Dream Lifestyle Coach.

Deneen specializes in helping women of color who want more out of life live boldly to create a dream life.

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Self-Limiting Beliefs

A journey of mindfulness.

Mindfulness is awareness of one's internal states and surroundings and can help people avoid destructive or automatic habits and responses by learning to observe their thoughts, emotions, and other present-moment experiences without judging or reacting to them..

Santana Innis: “I’m the daughter of a first generation Afro-Latino growing up in the inner city struggling with mental health, anxiety and knew there had to be another way. I found my first Thich Nhat Hanh book, The Miracles of Mindfulness. and had my new therapist which started a journey that's been going on for a decade. A journey of answering the call to always go inward when something hurts, don't hide, look inside.“

Refocus: Mental wellness tips for the Black woman

This journey led Santana to “answer the call to align her work life with her life's purpose”.

Living a Dream Lifestyle Monthly

Limiting beliefs and self-doubt.

Limiting beliefs are self-imposed ideas or thoughts that hold individuals back from achieving their goals or living their best life. These beliefs are often deeply ingrained and can be difficult to recognize or challenge. Limiting beliefs can take many forms, such as: “I'm not good enough.”

Santana Innis: “Especially as women of color we grow up in struggle often then going into the workplace, you got to work twice as hard, three times as hard to get half as far sometimes. If it doesn't hurt, if I'm not bleeding, if I'm not stressed to the max, did I really achieve anything? It is a belief system, it's something that we have control over. And so the ways that we start to work with that in coaching is first of all, we need to identify that it is number one, something we think. Just get it out there. I think this.”

12 Limiting Beliefs You Must Abandon Now to Reach Your Breakthrough

Take the time to identify those thoughts and beliefs and reframe them.

Practice the Pause

Confirmation bias and cognitive brain science.

Bianca shares what this year is about for her and, the potential of its impact.

Santana Innis: “The next thing I do is I ask people to imagine what would your life be like if you didn't think this? Look for examples, look around and see someone that you admire, someone that has something that you want, that's accomplished something that you dream of out loud or really quiet in your heart and say, okay, do I think they believe this same thing? Probably not. Cognitive brain science tells us that once you believe something, your brain gets real busy trying to maintain that status quo because brains are expensive energetically. They're like 2% of your body mass, your weight, but it takes 20% of the energy that you consume. So we conserve our energy through confirmation bias. We will look for proof that something we believe is true. Fake it till you make it. And then what is your brain going to do? It's going to get busy looking for proof that it's true.”

“Fake it to you make it” is a positive thing when you’re telling your brain to believe you can.

Fake It Till You Make It: How to Use What You Don't Know ...

Taking a pause for opportunity.

Santana shares how pausing and breathing correlate.

Santana Innis: “So the power in the pause is that in that space, we have opportunity. The opportunity in the pause, pause is a beautiful word because to take a pause means to create this sense of spaciousness. So that could literally be, I'm burnt out, I need a sabbatical, right? Oh, things are really rough right now. I'm going to take a mental health day. Or I'm going to call out sick because I'm not feeling well. Taking that pause that you need helps you to come back stronger. You can even take a pause in a single moment, mindfulness. If you're in a conversation with a manager and they're saying something problematic or crazy, or you just got denied a promotion or, or, or, or, or, or difficult information comes your way at work, in your love life, in your relationship with your parents, wherever it happens, when you can create a pause between the stimulus and your reaction to it, You open opportunity. Take a breath. Whatever it is, notice. take a few breaths, create that pause, because then you have the opportunity to act and not react.”

Pause. Breath. Welcome what’s meant for you.

We underestimate the power of pausing as a way to grow.

Noteworthy Quotes

• 00:00:39-00:00:49 "My purpose on this planet is to reduce suffering in self and others."
• 00:20:55-00:21:05 - "Do you know how it's keeping you down? Let's fill in the blank."
• 00:24:02-00:24:13 - "I'm going to tell you this thing that we've been believing is not getting us where we're going."

About Santa Inniss

Santana’s story began in the inner city with two parents doing their best. Without sugarcoating it— Santana experienced extreme childhood adversity, and her journey has taken many turns since then. She became the first person in her family to graduate from university or grad school, receiving her BSc from Columbia University and MSc from Northwestern University. She navigated a successful career in major communications agencies, non-profits, and tech. As a multi-ethnic, neurodivergent, first-generation American-- most of her experiences in climbing the ladder were laden with ‘isms’ and oh-so square-peg-round-hole. Inspired to smooth the paths of those coming up after her, she began advocating for folks through DEI leadership. She was successful on paper: she got the titles, the salary, and progressive leadership. But something felt deeply off.

In her decade-long personal development journey, she explored mindfulness, meditation, traditional and psychedelic-assisted therapy, mindful self-compassion, and many other modalities. In 2021, she received the Transmission of the Five Mindfulness Trainings in the Plum Village Zen Buddhist tradition. The more she did inner work, the more she found the corporate hustle incompatible with her humanity.

In 2023, she answered the call to align her work life with her life’s purpose. She waved bye-bye to success on paper, and today, she has the privilege to coach humans along their paths to greater alignment and freedom from the beliefs that limit them. She tells her story in hopes that it may be of service to even one person.

Email: [e-mail]

Website:https://www.flofoundations.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flofoundations/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/santanainniss/

Resources Mentioned

• The Miracles of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh
• Dreams Deferred, Soltrue

Other Episodes You’ll Enjoy

• Control What You Can Control (It Had to Exist)
• Definition of Success in Life
• Journeys of Empowerment: Women of Color Living Boldly

About the Podcast

Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation (An Intimate Conversation with Women of Color) is a podcast about women empowerment stories and for Women of Color who want more out of life. This show is for women who have had enough and want change, especially those who have been waiting to choose themselves and live boldly.

In each inspiring episode, hear from women from different backgrounds, countries, and ages who have embarked on personal journeys, sharing their stories of empowerment, overcoming, and their path to living a dream life (style).

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What limiting beliefs are you holding onto? Leave your thoughts in the comments.