Limiting Beliefs

What are they and can we overcome them?

Limiting beliefs are just thoughts and thoughts can be changed

Have you ever made a statement like “I’m not good with numbers” or “I am not good enough for this guy”? These are examples of limiting beliefs that put you in a corner of your own making and often falsely define you.

Limiting beliefs can hold us back from trying or undermining our efforts and relationships. Often they start from a young age but also become more set over time.  Limiting beliefs come from fear. You become a person who holds yourself back. But why? How does a person grow from a fearless kid into someone afraid of failure, avoiding challenges and learning opportunities, or constantly doubting oneself?

In this post, I am going to try to clarify what limiting beliefs are (we all have them) where they come from, and how can be addressed so we can dissolve them.

What are limiting beliefs?

A limiting belief is a thought or state of mind that you think is the absolute truth and stops you from doing certain things. These beliefs don’t always have to be about yourself, either. A limiting belief is a state of mind or belief about yourself that restricts you in some way. Everyone experiences limiting beliefs, but learning how to identify them can help you proactively prevent these beliefs from limiting you.

They create self-awareness that stops you from chasing after your dreams, forming healthy relationships with people, and creating change in any area of your life. Having primarily negative beliefs puts boundaries and limitations on things in our lives and keeps us within our comfort zones.

For example, if your limiting belief is that you’re bad at inspirational speaking, you’ll likely decline any opportunity to share your knowledge with others in a group setting. Or, if you have to speak in front of people, you may think you’ll be more likely to fail. This is because you have preconceived notions about your ability to speak that limit your potential.

Limiting beliefs can also keep you in a negative state of mind, hindering you from encountering new opportunities and life experiences while wreaking havoc on your mental health. That’s why it’s so important to not only work on your self-awareness and self-esteem but also recognize unconscious biases. Holding on to biases about others hinders your ability to collaborate effectively, ultimately impacting your quality of work.

Limiting beliefs can sometimes act as a defense mechanism to protect ourselves from pain. Your subconscious could remember past negative experiences and try to prevent you from hurting yourself again. These subconscious boundaries could lead to negative emotions like imposter syndrome, anxiety, and procrastination.

Where do limiting beliefs come from?

Your limiting beliefs come from plenty of various places. To overcome limiting beliefs, we first need to learn where they come from.

Limiting beliefs are caused by several factors but they all stem from the same place: your brain’s desire to protect you from pain in the future.

These triggers can include fear, impostor syndrome, and past experiences. 

Your parents and other family members taught you a set of beliefs and values, starting before you were even conscious of it. We start developing our core beliefs when we’re young based first on what we learn from our family, whether they transmit these beliefs purposefully or not.

More times than not, these beliefs were their own that they passed on to you. They could be about particular career paths, taste in music, or hobbies. Eventually, you solidify your own set of limiting beliefs based in part on what your family has taught you.

Often, limiting beliefs start from a young age and progressively evolve and reshape throughout your life as you encounter new experiences. Whether you’ve had a painful experience that caused you to fear similar encounters or is scared of what’s to come, limiting beliefs can prevent positive new beliefs from forming.

Knowing the cause of your limiting beliefs is a great way to understand the thought process behind them and begin to manage them. That said, there are several additional techniques you can implement to overcome your fears in the workplace.

Examples of limiting beliefs

Limiting beliefs are any self-deprecating thoughts that hold you back from growing as a person. (“10 Limiting Beliefs and How to Overcome Them • Asana”)

From verbal beliefs to body language and defense mechanisms, learning the most common limiting beliefs can help you identify them if they arise.  

Here are some common examples of limiting beliefs to recognize and correct in real-time:

• I’m not good enough: “I’m not good enough to manage this project.”
• I’m too old or too young: “I’m too young to be a manager.”
• I don’t have enough time: “I don’t have enough time to invest in myself.”
• I’m not smart enough: “I’m not smart enough to lead this meeting.”
• I’ll never be successful: “I’ll never be successful in my industry.”
• I don’t have enough money: “I don’t have enough money to enjoy my life.”
• I’m not talented enough: “I’m not talented enough to get a promotion.”

●     “I’m too old to go back to school. I’ve missed my chance to get my education, so why bother trying now?”

●     “My personality type doesn’t match a lot of other people’s, so I’m never going to find someone to be in a relationship with.”

●     “If I get a divorce, nobody will want to be with me again because I’ve already been married.”

●     “I’m too quiet and slow to be a successful entrepreneur. I should give up now. ”I don’t have time to start a new hobby because I’m so busy.”

These types of beliefs come from a place of fear, and everyone has them. The goal is to learn how to identify and combat limiting beliefs so they don’t prevent you from getting out of your comfort zone.

The trick is to recognize your own limiting beliefs when they come up and use that recognition to reframe how you think about yourself.

How to identify limiting beliefs

1. Reflect on your behavior.

Evaluating your behavior can help show you what causes your limiting beliefs. Think back to when someone hurt your feelings and you needed to speak up for yourself. What was your reaction? Situations like this can show you that you might have a limiting belief that you should avoid conflict at all costs, but that negatively impacts your relationships.

2. Write down your beliefs.

Try writing down your general beliefs — the personal ones, and the ones that you feel very strongly about. You can categorize them by sections like family, relationships, and health.

3. Make a list of things that challenge you

There could be things that routinely challenge you in life that you avoid that could be your limiting beliefs, so ask yourself, “What limiting beliefs are you holding on to? “Write down your challenges and look for any patterns; this will offer you a chance to think of self-improvement strategies for specific areas of your life.

4. Use Feelings to Identify Limiting Beliefs

“Your feelings are a built-in tool to help you find limiting beliefs.” (“How to Identify Limiting Beliefs – Manifesting Sage”)

It’s as simple as checking in to see what you are feeling at any moment in time.

Are you scared, nervous, impatient, frustrated, obsessing, or doubtful? Well, guess what!?! Whatever you’re thinking that is producing those feelings is a limiting belief. Your negative feelings are how you identify self-limiting beliefs.

Don’t fight the negative feelings! Don’t try to resist them or suppress them! Just notice that they are there and allow them to be. You’ll notice that they will start to fade on their own.

How to overcome limiting beliefs

“It’s challenging to identify them, but it can be even harder to know how to deal with limited beliefs.” (“What Are Limiting Beliefs – BetterUp”) Feeling like you can’t reach your goals might stop you from living a truly fulfilling life. To reframe your mindset, you need to have strategies that work for you.

Here are seven tips to overcome your limiting beliefs:

1. Ask yourself what would happen if your limiting belief is wrong.
2. Push yourself to step outside your comfort zone and take some risks.
3. Get creative and think of new beliefs.
4. Put your new beliefs to the test to see if they are true
5. .Be proud of your personal development and further a growth mindset.
6. Make sure your environment is organized and free of clutter. Having a well-organized and spacious environment could improve your mental health and encourage positive thinking. When your environment is tidy, it gives you the space to think and gain more clarity.
7. Take care of your mental health and regularly evaluate your well-being.

 If you want better beliefs to guide your thinking and choices, you have to work on yourself. This means actively seeking opportunities for development and growth in all aspects of your life. Self-improvement is important as it can increase self-awareness and help you overcome weaknesses.

Concluding thoughts

Limiting beliefs can have several negative effects on you. They could keep you from making good choices, taking new opportunities, or reaching your potential. “Ultimately, limiting beliefs can keep you stuck in a negative state of mind and hinder you from living the life you truly desire.” (“How to Identify Your Limiting Beliefs and Get Over Them”)

Whatever you give your attention to has the power to create. Limiting beliefs are those negative thoughts you think over and over and over again. They’re the ones that create negative manifestations in your life and prevent you from creating what you want most.

These beliefs seem to be very powerful because they are things you have thought about for a long time. They come quite naturally to you. It’s like a snowball effect. The more energy you give to these negative thoughts, the more you think about them.

But the problem with these negative thoughts is that they can act like a brick wall holding you in place. They are invisible obstacles holding you back from success, turning your life into a self-fulling prophecy.

Changing limiting beliefs is a learned skill. It’s like learning to read, dance, fly an airplane, or play a musical instrument.  All of these things will take a certain number of hours before you reach a level. However, if you put your focus and mind to it, it is possible to dissolve them. You must believe in yourself and your potential to change.