Don’t feel alone if you’ve ever struggled with accomplishing goals. There’s a good chance it has less to do with poor execution and more to do with how you think and feel about yourself.

In this post, I’d like to share 3 signs in my experience that may be indicative of someone struggling with limiting beliefs. We are going to breakdown how this type of fixed mindset can stop you from reaching your goals as well as my advice on what you can do to start changing your mindset and rebuild your self confidence.

What are Limiting Beliefs?

Do you usually pass statements like, “There is nothing special about me, I’ll never get that promotion” or “I don’t have a skinny body. They won’t see past my size .” These are examples of limiting beliefs.

Limiting beliefs are opinions, thoughts, and perceptions that you might believe about yourself to be the absolute truth. 

How do they affect someone trying to achieve goals?

Limiting beliefs can affect and even harm your professional development or personal growth. They can hinder your ability to process outcomes and act on career opportunities and life choices.

As Tony Robbins once said,

“The only thing that is keeping you from getting what you want is the story you keep telling yourself.”

Tony Robbins

People can form these beliefs based on past experiences where your subconscious blocks and alters your behavior. It can result in adverse outcomes like overthinking, procrastination, conformism, or anxiety. For one reason or another, you might start to make excuses about working towards or completing your goals and develop unhealthy coping habits that suppress your true feelings. Ultimately, lessening your chances for long term success.

If you are noticing these patterns affecting how you see and feel about yourself, identifying these 3 signs may bring you clarity on what you are experiencing. With sharing some insight on what helped me get past my own struggles, I hope the same for you so you can start achieving your goals and aspirations with confidence.

Signs of Limiting Beliefs

1. Avoiding New Opportunities

Limiting beliefs like “I am not good enough” are often embedded in human nature. Sometimes, we don’t even realize how our own thoughts and words take form in our real life experiences. You start to actually believe that you lack the skills or experience needed to achieve anything beyond your expectations. You become fixed in that mindset especially when faced with small challenges that reinforce or remind you of your inadequacies, “flaws” or “shortcomings”.

With this mindset, you start to avoid new opportunities that come your way out of fear of failure because of the limiting beliefs you have subconsciously manifested. This can act as mental and physical blockers restricting rational thinking, and you feel there is no choice but to quit.

Which leads me to habitual procrastination as sign number 2.

2. Procrastination

People tend to spend their lives in a defined and calculated manner. They develop a limiting belief about a lack of time for their goals and say things like “I just don’t have enough time.” and so, they never put forth the effort to “make time”.

Procrastinators are often people who unnecessarily delay actions or decisions and develop counterproductive habits and methods to distract themselves from priority tasks usually intended for personal development. A procrastinator may appear busy in their day to day, but when it comes to their personal goals and aspiration, there are many roadblocks they encounter. Some of which may be self-imposed. Overtime, if this becomes practiced behavior, it can lead to more concerning issues that not only affect your physical health but also your mental.

Teetothe,
Read More on 3 Ways I Approach Goals to Combat Procrastination

3. Comparison and Confusion

Social media is that bitter sweet reality that has produced more harm than good in my opinion. It has caused people to develop comparison delusions that lead to inferiority complex due to the perceived grandiosity of others.

The portrayal of these ideal lifestyles people live out on social media create a warped view that other people have met their goals and you are being left behind. You believe something must be wrong with you because others are “living their best life”.

This false sense of reality creates confusion when you start to compare your life with others whether on social media, the work place, or amongst peers. You don’t consider the differences in personal experiences and journeys and that a lot of what is shared on social media and in your social interactions is just cap.

How changing your mindset helps with your limiting beliefs.

I share a lot about mindset and self growth not as some expert but as someone just like you who is intrigued now with how changing mindset has helped me evolve in my personal life and my endeavors. Evolving for me has meant I am clearing the road ahead and stepping into our greatness. Whether that’s with career, family or love, the experiences you encounter are not by coincidence.

There IS always a reason to learn, to grow and to heal so that you can experience a more happy, healthy and balanced lifestyle. However, in order to get to that place of alignment, one must be willing to sit still long enough to reflect, repair and re-envision their capabilities. I have found that implementing these 3 techniques helped improve my inner dialogue about myself and my ability to do great things.

Reflect

• Identify the purpose and cause, and then question the validity of your beliefs. Pause and think about the outcomes of your thoughts. Understand the irrational and/or baseless thoughts and stories that you tell yourself. Search and be aware of the evidence or triggers that can turn your lies into reasonable beliefs.

Prompt: You might try Mindfulness Meditation for increased mental acuity and self-awareness. One of the many benefits of Mindfulness Meditation is that it allows you to be in the moment, observe your thoughts without judgement and increase feelings of self-compassion. If you can’t find any valid reason for your beliefs, this type of meditation helps you work towards quieting the mind of these negative thoughts and improve your inner dialogue in a safe space.

Repair

• Stop blaming other people and the world for your failures. This may sound blunt or like tough love, but taking accountability and challenging yourself to take control of your life is actually quite empowering. The more you start cleansing your mindset of negative reinforcements and incorporate positive affirmations in your self talk, the more your limiting beliefs will diminish.

Prompt: Try setting intentions daily as a commitment to your future self. You might start off by saying “ Today, I choose to be accountable for how I think and feel about myself. Everyday, I am choosing to show up for myself.” Try setting intentions along with positive affirmations to challenge your negative thoughts as part of your meditation session.

Re-envision

•  Seek advice from trusted individuals about your limiting beliefs. Try bookmarking inspiring people, places or things as recourse when positive reinforcements are needed during challenging experiences. Seek small opportunities for personal development and growth in various aspects of your life as confidence boosters for practical and ambitious goals. Don’t look at obstacles as limitations, look at them as a way to learn, grow and re-imagine possibilities.

Prompt: Try a mindset cleanse for 7 Days, to clear your sub-conscious by only engaging in positive stimuli. Whether you are reading, watching or listening to it, it should be initiated as soon as you wake up before you start your day. You might also try journaling as well to monitor the change in your thoughts and beliefs. Set short term goals that you can achieve in a defined time and see how your positive opinions help you achieve them.

If you are looking to get start with a journaling, check out my go-to travel journal below!

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If are still struggling with the negative affects of limiting beliefs and feel guided support beyond these self-help techniques is needed, please consider resources from professionals who specialize in talk therapy. Your mental well-being should always be your priority but it’s up to you to do the inner work.