How To Know You Hold Limiting Beliefs That Stuck Your Life

How To Know You Hold Limiting Beliefs That Stuck Your Life
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Limiting Beliefs meaning:



Sometime you may try repeatedly to get out of the situation in the same manner which suggested by your own self-limiting belief. Ultimately you give up and fail to achieve your desired outcome.

This is because you may have developed many lifelong thought patterns in your unconscious mind based on your self-beliefs that certain things are always true in front of you. This actually creates a boundary of wrong beliefs surround you.

Due to lack of self-awareness, you can’t cross this boundary and take proper action towards your success.

Here I am sharing another story for your understanding.

Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right- Henry Ford

In 1945 Gunder Hagg , a Swedish runner made a world record of running a mile in 4:01:4 in Malmo. It was believed by all that it is impossible to run a mile in four minutes.

But on 6th May, 1954 Roger Banister, a British middle distance athlete prove everybody wrong and broke the record by achieving 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.

Surprisingly just after 6 weeks later the 21st June 1954 John Landy beat Banister’s record by running a mile in 3 minutes and 58 seconds.

Could you believe that from 1954 to 1960  further 21 people broke the 4-minute mile barrier? The record is now held by Hicham EI Guerrouj at 3:43 seconds.

So you can see that we can achieve is often limited by what we believe is achievable.

If I look at a different perspective, I think most of our self-limiting beliefs are making excuse for not willing to change our behavior.

Why do you need to know your limiting beliefs?


Beliefs create the map in your mind and guide you towards the goal and give you the power to take action. Your beliefs affect your life & behavior which change the shape of your happiness and success. The biggest problem forces you to live below your potentials.

Limits your potential and efficiency: The Wrong perception stops you to take certain action in real-time.

Creates Reality: If you think that you will never get a job then you will become demotivate and not be able to take proper preparation. Later when you try to find a job you will fail. Here your beliefs create your reality.

Low self-confidence:  Your positive thought boost your self-confidence and negative beliefs do the opposite work.

Personal Beliefs and Values attitude behavior

More ever you become biased towards your own belief by filtering the information. As you can only absorb the information match with your belief in your unconscious mind. Hope you are aware that your action is directly related to your belief and behavior. Limiting beliefs are often driven by fears, more you fear more you lose your confidence.

Limiting beliefs examples:


Here I am giving a list of limiting beliefs which are common for most people so that you can check your limiting core belief.

  1. I don’t have enough time.
  2. I can’t talk to strangers.
  3. Success is not for me.
  4. It’s too late for me to change.
  5. I don’t deserve good things.
  6. I’ll never be happy.
  7. I’ve too many responsibilities.
  8. Rich people are always bad or they always lucky.
  9. I can’t make money.
  10. I’ll be always rejected by the beautiful woman.
  11. I’m a procrastinate.
  12. Nobody will show interest in my ideas.
  13. I’m not perfect and don’t have the skill.
  14. As I have failed in past so not required to try again.
  15. I don’t know where to start.
  16. I am demotivated.
  17. I’ve no luck.
  18. One day I will change.
  19. I’ll be criticized by others.
  20. What I want, I am really confused on.

Do you find some similarity with your own beliefs?

How limiting beliefs are created:

Let’s consider the story of the elephant which can help you to understand the source of your limiting thought.

When a trainer train an elephant the first trick apply on “the elephant does not escape”. So the trainer chains the infant elephant leg with a huge log. So when the elephant tries to escape the log prevent and the baby elephant gives up. Gradually the elephant grows up but the trainer tied anything on its leg smaller than the huge log. The elephant even doesn’t try to escape a little. Because of the limiting beliefs created in his mind by the trainer.

A human mind is a meaning-making machine. As soon as a new concern or life event arise we tend to fill up the gaps by new beliefs with the available information with us.

In the other words when you can’t get the things you want, your mind and ego quickly create a self-limiting belief about yourself like “I am not lucky enough” to feel good about self.

Hope you may understand now, how limiting beliefs are formed when there is not enough knowledge or awareness. From the childhood, many beliefs are created in the same way. Using them repeatedly strength the limitation.

How can you identify your limiting beliefs?

Quiz on limiting beliefs

You may easily find the limiting beliefs of others but it may critical for you to identify your own.

I find out a simple way to find it. That is a simple word “Because”.

“I can’t be a good blogger because my writing skill is poor”

“Nobody wants me so I am alone in this world .”

“I can’t attend the meeting because I have not presentation skill”

So you see in the above statement my own negative believe stop me to take action to get success. The words appear after the word –“because”- all are not the description of the reality rather than an incomplete idea of the reality to convince my ego or feel good.

Here I want to share with you the simple process. You can apply this method but remember to put aside your judgment mind. Go as quickly as possible from your feelings only so that you can extract more from your unconscious mind.

  1. Take one problem :

Example: I can’t attend the meeting

  1. Find out the possible reason: using because and extract as many as the possible reason by repeat the process. Write down every time you got some reason. Repeat again until you find there are no other points or you have already started repeating same reason.


  1. Say loudly all reason statement start with “because”. Give them a score as “0” is false and “10” is true (true in terms of your feeling not on logic).

Example: I can’t attend the meeting-“Because”-

I have no presentation skills (score-8)

I am shy (score-7)

Maybe  I’m not accepted by the seniors (score-1)

I can’t speak English well (score-5)

Maybe I have no personality (score-4)

I am not the good public speaker (score-8)

I am fear to stand up in front of all (score-6)


Hope you have already started to work out on some of your problems and get the result –“your self-limiting beliefs”. Maybe you get one strong reason or more some small reason. If the single belief seems to be strong then you already know what step to take further on your own.

How To Know You Hold Limiting Beliefs That Stuck Your Life

How can you prevent limiting beliefs from being created?


As I have already told you that we fill up with wrong information which creates our belief. So try to not filling the gap without accruing sufficient knowledge and information. Increase self-awareness, educate yourself, read a lot and take action to prevent your beliefs from getting limited.  The human tendency to accept when most are agreed. So one important thing, you must avoid groups.

You may try the book: The Unlimited Self.

Where do your beliefs come from?

According to Tony Robbins, famous life coach and author, beliefs come from below 5 areas:

  1. Knowledge: It is a powerful tool. Learn from people’s experience who knows more than you. This must break the wall of limit.
  2. Environment: The surroundings where you born and grow. You believe what you see. When your parents, family, seniors are told you start to follow them. on the basis of their beliefs,
  3. Life Events: The day you first proposed, the day you got job or promotion, the day you got married or birth your first child, the day of break your relationship, rejected by someone. The event which affected you positive or in a negative way which changed your vision.
  4. Past results: Past is not equal to future. The failure or success you face in the past creates a belief in you. So learn from failure, boost confidence from achievement.
  5. Future vision: Wrong belief or perception formed from the past experience could not help you to get your desired result. You can achieve your future goal by your own.

So your next action starts here, by replacing old, de-empowering beliefs with new empowering one.

limiting beliefs quiz

What are the main obstacles to change your core limiting beliefs?


Confirmation bias:

You already have a set of beliefs and habits for yourself and for others. So when new external beliefs come to your mind either blocks it or twist it with earlier beliefs on the basis of your past experience.

Getting too many opinions:

You may think your present is far better than before whereas your friend may frustrate and think life is hell day by day. Here both of you are correct, only the concern is beliefs on the different perspective. So use your beliefs and opinions which serve you better to achieve your goal.

Easy thinking:

Your beliefs show your emotional state, and for feeling good you continue with those beliefs.


How can you overcome core limiting beliefs?


Hope you have already identified your core beliefs which limit your success.

Congratulation, you have almost done, only you can change it. I am trying to just show you the path to change your thinking process.

Challenge of positive:

Anthony Robin’s introduced a series of a challenge to change negative beliefs in his book “Awaken the Giant Within”, you must try the book.

Whenever you feel negative beliefs try to re-frame it quickly in positive. Like- “Oh shit, it is raining!! I expect sunny day!” to “That great!! it is raining outside farmer will be happy today”

Expose new in life:

If you exposed same people, same environment, same way of living you could not change the belief system.  Sometimes change is good.

Go outside, travel, change job, change daily routine, reshuffle your workplace or house – will create some new model in neural connection – will help to overcome self-limiting beliefs.

Break the barrier:

You have to push yourself to break the barrier of your past beliefs. Think when last time you walk up early and go outside? When last time you experienced the happiest time?  When last time you finished a target job with the timeline?

Who knows where you will stand in next 5 years? Explore the potentials you already have.

If you are not taking part in the quiz till now,  then check it now:

Limiting Beliefs Quiz

Now it’s your turn, let me know in comments what is the first step you are going to take to get rid of your limiting belief in the comment below?

Did you enjoy this article?
Sudipta Kr Maiti
Connect me

Sudipta Kr Maiti

Founder at Tune Up Success
Sudipta Kr Maiti
Connect me

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