🔗Top 10 Limiting Belief Examples and How to Overcome Them🔗
Limiting beliefs are an actual pain in the arse, they get in the way of you living your most authentic, true Limitless self. If you’re unsure of what Limiting Beliefs are and where they come from make sure you check out my article “What are Limiting Beliefs” to get the low down.
We all have limiting beliefs and having worked with 100’s of clients, I have noticed that there are certain repeating limiting beliefs found in all walks of life from the most humble backgrounds to multi-millionaire yacht owners. So without further ado and in no particular order here my top ten examples of limiting beliefs:
Limiting Belief Example 1: “I am not worthy”
The belief that one is not worthy can be traced back to a lack of validation or acceptance in early life. For instance, a person who received conditional love or approval from caregivers may develop this belief. If as a child you were told, "I'll only love you if you behave," you may grow up associating your worth with external conditions. As adults, you’ll struggle with self-worth because you’ll feel you must constantly earn it.
This is not to say that your parents didn’t do a good job, and you needn’t have gone through severe trauma for this to be the case for you. In actuality, as soon as your needs were not met you began to believe that this was the case- your innocence prevents you from seeing the truth that your parents or carers are somehow at fault. So you begin to believe that you are not worthy of having or being.
When looking at this belief I always give the example of a newborn baby. If you were to see a new born baby would you have any thoughts that it is unworthy? Remember that you once were that baby too. You are inherently worthy because you ARE and it is time you stop giving your power away to your past
Limiting Belief Example 2: "I am not enough"
Have you ever felt like you're just not measuring up? This belief often has roots in childhood experiences of relentless comparison.
It's like when parents or teachers kept saying, "Why can't you be more like your sister?" These comparisons can make you feel like you're not enough, causing self-doubt and undermining your self-esteem. You then go about life feeling like you need to “prove” yourself in order to feel valued and seen.
The problem is that unless you shift this limiting belief your life will be overrun by the need of proving yourself and feelings of disappointment.
Limiting Belief Example 3: "I need to please others"
The urge to please others usually springs from growing up in an environment where criticism and high expectations were the norm.
Were you raised by parents who demanded nothing short of perfection? To avoid the constant criticism, they learned that the only way to gain approval and acceptance by being a yes person.
Conversely, you may have had parents that were very cold with you unless you did things for them. They would then warm the light of their hearts, so to speak every time you did something for them. This has then become a habitual pattern: if I make others happy I receive love.
The problem with this is that the boundaries quickly get blurred and the love you seek is unattainable.
Limiting Belief Example 4: "I am evil/bad"
Ever thought of yourself as inherently flawed or wicked? This belief often has its roots in past mistakes and a strict moral upbringing.
If you grew up in a religious household that constantly hammered the ideas of sin and guilt into your mind, then you’ll be wrestling with this belief system.
I also want to highlight that even if you did not experience a strict religious up bring you may still have this belief system. This can be caused either by ancestral energy or even past lives. As I mention in my previous article, not all our beliefs come from this life time!
Limiting Belief Example 5: "I am broken"
The belief of being broken often arises from traumatic experiences or deep emotional wounds.
This is commonly seen in those who have experienced a traumatic event like abuse. This belief becomes a way to make sense of their pain and suffering. They start viewing themselves as permanently damaged, with no hope of ever healing.
If this sounds like you, remember that on some level this belief is serving you. Perhaps you believe the only way of surviving is by maintaining the role of the victim because you believe it gives you the love that was withheld from you when you were a child.
Limiting Belief Example 6: "Money is the root of all evil"
This belief can be deeply influenced by how your family or society views wealth. If you grew up in a household where money was seen as a corrupting influence, or if you were bombarded by media portraying wealthy people as ruthless and immoral, you might internalise the idea that money is inherently evil.
This is a sticky belief that will have a huge impact on your ability to access and maintain wealth (because why would you want something that you perceive is evil?) It seems that everywhere we look money is portrayed as some awful, manipulative being that makes humans do awful things. In actual fact money is neutral, as it is just energy. It is the human in question that is the problem, not the money itself.
Limiting Belief Example 7: "I am an imposter/charlatan"
Feeling like an imposter is common, especially if you've had a history of high expectations or pressure. If you were always told that you were gifted or had limitless potential, you will have created the impossibly high standards for yourself which often develops into imposter syndrome.
Usually it is the most qualified that experience imposter syndrome because they feel like they’re not going to be “enough”. If this sounds like you, please remember that you were given the job/position for a reason. This belief system is usually paired with a lack of self worth and feeling of being not enough.
Limiting Belief Example 8: "I'm not smart enough"
Feeling intellectually inadequate can often be traced back to early educational experiences. Were you the type of student who struggled in school, faced bullying, or received negative feedback from teachers? These experiences can stick with you, causing you to believe that you’re not smart or intelligent, even if that's far from the truth.
The truth is we’re not all meant to be mathematicians or physicist, yet the schooling system puts SO much emphasis on this. I was terrible at sciences and Maths and that made me feel so stupid because I was comparing myself to the “norm”. You don’t need to be good at school to be successful, don’t believe me? Take a look at how Sir Richard Branson challenged in his limiting beliefs to achieve success in business.
Limiting Belief Example 9: "I'll never be successful"
Have you ever felt like success is an impossible dream? This belief can develop from a history of failures, unrealistic comparisons, or a lack of support. Maybe you’ve faced repeated setbacks in your career or you’re constantly comparing yourself to high-achieving peers.
Firstly, it is so important to define what success really if for you. Some people believe having a salary of £30 000 is being successful whereas others feel like they need to be millionaires. The success you are looking for starts from within, like everything really. If you believe that an externality is going to make you “successful” you are in dangerous territory because of the instability created.
At any point you could lose your job, and suddenly you lose your belief that you are successful. Better to focus on the inner-success so that you can then experience the outer with safety and surety.
Limiting Belief Example 10: "Life is unfair"
Feeling like life is just plain unfair often comes from living through some really tough times or being bombarded with messages about how the world can be an unjust place. It's like lugging around a heavy backpack filled with the weight of adversity and discrimination. When you're in that space, it feels as though the whole world is stacked against you, and shaking that belief can seem like trying to move a mountain with your bare hands.
I'm pretty certain that at some point in your life, you've faced situations that just seemed downright unfair, right? Well, here's the thing: it's all about how you perceive it. Shifting that perception takes some mindfulness and determination, but it's totally doable. Each experience you've gone through has a purpose – it's happened for you, not to you.
When you replace the "life is unfair" mindset with "life is what you make it," something magical happens. It's like suddenly spreading your wings and feeling a sense of freedom and growth.
How can you learn from these examples of limiting beliefs?
As you take a look at these limiting beliefs, you'll notice that there's a bit of an overlap between them. That's because our beliefs aren't just black and white; they're intertwined, and one can influence the other.
It's important to understand that these limiting beliefs have been created and continue to be implicated in your life because of your attachment to the story of your past. We must understand, that although this story has brought us to where we are now, it no longer serves us and it is time to write a new one that supports the expansiveness of YOU.
I am sure you will have read through some of these and thought "yes. but it's thanks to my people pleasing that I am x, y and z". Maybe that is true but I can guarantee you that although it may serve you at the moment at some point it is going to backfire - that is your system trying to bring you back to wholeness.
With Love,
Andrew x.
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