Limiting Beliefs: How Your Own Mind Is Holding You Back From Success
Becoming a business owner, a CEO, or any other type of leader typically comes with doubt, limiting beliefs, and a healthy mix of excitement and fear.
These feelings are normal and unsurprising.
After all, if starting a business was easy, everyone would do it.
But if you want to be consistently successful, you have to be willing to make necessary internal shifts. We’re our own toughest critics. We also sometimes judge others for their circumstances or their way of life without experiencing it ourselves.
Limiting beliefs are heavily influenced by your upbringing and your life experiences.
They’re often subconscious, so it’s difficult to identify them and recognize how they’re stunting your growth in your personal life and your business¹.
Replacing your limiting beliefs with beliefs that encourage your growth is possible.
It takes consistent work to override your existing thoughts. But it’s necessary to give yourself a fighting chance. As with anything, the first step is recognizing these thoughts and the negative impact they’re having on you and your progress.
What Are Limiting Beliefs?
Limiting beliefs are beliefs that we form – often about ourselves or our potential – that hold us back from achieving our goals or trying new things. Many people never achieve fulfillment, because they let beliefs that aren’t true hold them back.
It’s common to blame external factors and other people when we don’t meet our goals². However, this doesn’t solve anything.
You might feel better temporarily when you shrug off your responsibility for your circumstances.
But the truth is – you have more power than you realize over your limiting beliefs.
Whenever you feel anxious about trying something, take time to examine the situation. Beliefs about yourself that you use to explain why you can't do something are usually not rooted in truth.
Limiting beliefs can also manifest as judging others for having success or doing something you haven’t been able to do.
There are pivotal moments in your life where it’s crucial to identify your limiting beliefs so you can form new beliefs that will serve your growth. When you’re becoming a parent, starting a business, or moving up in your career, you want to be aware of these beliefs and how they might affect your ability to succeed.
Entrepreneurs often notice these beliefs when they’re starting their business or when they’re trying to get to the next level.
Common Limiting Beliefs of Entrepreneurs
Since limiting beliefs often surface when we’re taking a risk or trying something outside of our comfort zone, it’s no surprise that entrepreneurs come face to face with these beliefs at different stages of their business.
One clinical psychologist and coach identifies the four most common limiting beliefs that prevent us from reaching our full potential as fear of failure, ridicule, uncertainty, and success³.
As a business owner, I would be lying if I said I haven’t experienced these fears.
The fear of failure
It’s intimidating when you’re starting your own business and building it from nothing. But it’s not nothing. You know more than you realize. And if you’re willing to put the work in, despite running into obstacles and “failing” over and over again, your chance of success is great.
Experiencing a setback or making a major mistake is not a failure if you learn from it and keep working toward your goals.
A common limiting belief that stems from the fear of failure is thinking you’re not good enough. You think you don’t have what it takes.
The truth is – you’re the only one holding yourself back when you think like this.
The fear of success
Fear of success can be difficult to recognize, because you don’t fear success itself. You fear the possibility of not being able to handle success or failing once you’ve already achieved your primary goal.
Maybe you also fear how others will view you if you become wealthy or reputable. Limiting beliefs about money are often formed throughout our childhood and they stick in our subconscious well into adulthood⁴.
This type of thinking holds you back. These beliefs you carry don’t take your unique situation into account.
Would you really let money corrupt you? If you want to make a living by helping others improve their health and overall well-being, there’s nothing wrong or evil about that.
So before you worry others will view you differently if you have success, think about what you want to do if you succeed. Keep in mind your “why” and how you plan to help others. This will help you squash these limiting beliefs.
The fear of ridicule
Fearing ridicule is self-explanatory. Facing ridicule is not uncommon when you’re building a business and brand. When you’re offering something that can change others’ lives for the better, you have to be ready to face competition and criticism from others.
If you have major goals, don’t let others’ limiting beliefs hold you back.
The fear of uncertainty
It’s normal to fear the unknown to a certain extent. But if it’s preventing you from living a purposeful life, you have to learn to handle uncertainty.
If you need to reduce your fear of uncertainty to get started, try conducting research and listing what’s in your control and what’s not up to you⁵. Remember, there’s a balance. Be careful to not get stuck in your research and planning for too long, otherwise, you’re delaying progress.
Whatever you do, don’t let your limiting beliefs take you down the “what if” rabbit hole.
Eliminating Limiting Beliefs
Limiting beliefs stop us from achieving our goals and forming healthy relationships – with ourselves and others.
Luckily, you now know what limiting beliefs are, which means you can combat them. So how do you combat what’s in your own head?
Look for evidence.
Is there more evidence in your life that supports or contradicts this belief? What are the odds it will turn out the same as your previous attempt? What can you do differently this time to meet your goals?
Change your self-talk.
Positive self-talk has been shown to improve outcomes in sports, business, and life in general.
We can’t control what happens, but we can control how we react. We can also control our attitude before anything happens.
Work with a professional.
Since most limiting beliefs are deeply ingrained in your subconscious, it can be difficult to break free on your own.
Some people hire a business coach or seek the support of a mentor. Others have a partner they can count on for motivation and encouragement.
Limiting beliefs don’t have to keep you from accomplishing your goals. It’s time to stop letting your head tell you stories that limit your potential.
I’m rooting for you.
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