Limiting beliefs are false beliefs that prevent us from pursuing our goals and desires. Limiting beliefs can keep you from doing important things, like applying for your dream job or finding the relationship you want (or leaving the one you don’t want). They can also keep you from doing unimportant things, like skydiving in your underwear or trying out that weird food you never thought you could..
Our beliefs put boundaries and limitations on what we perceive to be reasonable behavior.
My belief that stealing is wrong limits me from simply stealing the next car that rolls by, Grand Theft Auto-style. This limiting belief is probably a good one to have. Therefore, we can say that not all limiting beliefs are negative. In fact, we need some limiting beliefs in order to, you know, limit us from doing stupid crap.
But some limiting beliefs unnecessarily hold us back from who we want to become. Like the elephant that remains stuck to the fence post, these limiting beliefs keep us in place without us even realizing it. These are the limiting beliefs I’ll be addressing in this article.
Limiting beliefs typically come in three flavors:
Limiting beliefs about yourself that make you feel like you can’t do something because something is inherently wrong with you.*
Limiting beliefs about the world that make you feel like you can’t do something because no one will let you.*
Limiting beliefs about life that make you feel like you can’t do something because it’s too difficult.*
