What if the thing that’s holding you back from you best work, your best songs, your best lyrics, is a belief that isn’t entirely true, or isn’t true at all? You may have beliefs about yourself, about others, or about the way things work that are keeping you from finishing your last song or starting your next. Here are some examples:

1. I am a cashier (or whatever your day job is if you’re not a full-time songwriter) so I can’t write good songs.
2. I am not as good as (insert your favorite band here) so no one will listen to my music.
3. I’m too old to write music.
4. I have to spend all of my free time with my spouse/kids/friends/etc. so I don’t have time to write songs.

Instead of trying to ignore these beliefs, replace them with the truth.

1. I am a cashier, I have a unique perspective, no full-time songwriter can write songs as a cashier.
2. I’m not the best songwriter, but neither is anyone else. No one can listen to my music if I don’t write it.
3. I have more life experience that many songwriters, I can use that experience to write lyrics that a young writer can’t.
4. I have to balance my relationships with what I want to accomplish. Maybe my relationships are that important, maybe not. Maybe I can start investing some of your time while still spending some of it with the people who are important to me.

You can turn around most of your limiting beliefs through perspective and potential. The truth is, you are the only person who can write lyrics from your perspective, and you have the potential to get better. What beliefs are holding you back?