Lately I’ve witnessed how limiting beliefs get in the way of my clients living their best lives. A limiting belief is a state of mind or belief about yourself that restricts you in some way. Everyone experiences limiting beliefs. Left unchecked, your thoughts become your beliefs, which in turn, become your mindset. Your mindset fuels your actions, which create your reality. Learning how to identify your beliefs can help you proactively prevent these beliefs from limiting you, especially as a leader.
Some common examples of limiting beliefs are: “I’m not good enough.” “I’m not smart enough.” “I’ll never be successful.”
I’m currently working with a leader who doesn’t trust herself to make the right decision. She checks and double checks with others around her before making the simplest of decisions. She is afraid of being wrong and making a mistake. This not only undermines her confidence in herself, but she’s cemented the perception that she’s incapable of making a decision with others, too. It’s restricting her ability to be seen as competent enough to be promoted.
Another leader thinks to himself, “it’s up to me to get the job done.” He can’t rely on anyone else. His belief puts undue pressure on himself to go it alone and work many more hours than is necessary. Because he doesn’t delegate work effectively to his team members, they believe that he doesn’t trust them to do the work effectively. It has eroded trust on his team.
To help you identify your own limiting beliefs and take action to address them, check out the article “10 Limiting Beliefs and How to Overcome Them.”