Overcoming Limiting Beliefs

Most people don’t fall short because of a lack of ability.
They fall short because of beliefs they never question.

As a leader, it’s especially important that you find a way to overcome these beliefs.

Many of us struggle with limiting beliefs—and don’t realize it until someone brings them to our attention.

The problem is, they don’t feel like beliefs.
They feel like facts.

Once you notice them, it becomes critical to face them—because limiting beliefs quietly narrow your vision for what your life and career could actually become.

Limiting beliefs make it nearly impossible to pursue something meaningful or “big” without an internal voice saying:
“Hold on… not so fast.”

How many times have we told ourselves these following statements:

• I can't do that
• I shouldn't apply for that job because I am not good enough
• I tried once and it didn't work
• I am just not smart enough
• I didn't go to a blue-chip school
• It's too late to pursue my dreams
• Those people are better than me
• My boss told me I shouldn't try because I am not good enough
• I am not a great leader

If you’re honest, you’ve likely said at least one of these to yourself—recently.

No matter how they’re worded, the message is always the same:
I’m not enough.

Do any of these sound familiar? These sentences come from a fixed mindset—with all the conviction of beliefs that someone may have been holding on to since they were in their youth. 

Where Do Limiting Beliefs Start

Many of our limiting beliefs come from experiences that are often laced with shame, embarrassment, or fear. Once we "decide" we are not good at something, we might also decide we are not good at anything related such as sports, art, leading others, the list goes on.

More often than not, this is the case — a huge limiting belief can be formed in a moment, or through several small moments that culminate into a belief you carry throughout adulthood. For example, a high school teacher may have given bad feedback on a writing project and then told them to focus their energy on other subjects. 

As an executive coach, I often run into this problem with clients who have at one time or another in their career been put down on a project, or been told their idea was frivolous. In hindsight, it might be easy to brush off such a thing, but if you never take the time to discover and challenge the root of the belief, you’re denying yourself the opportunity to be free of it.

As a leader, you must find a way to overcome such beliefs — an important part of being an effective leader is seeing the unlimited potential in your employees, and how can you do that if you cannot see your own potential?

Changing Perspectives – Getting a Different Point of View

Limiting beliefs persist because we stop questioning them.

Over time, we stop seeing them as beliefs—and start seeing them as identity.

“That’s just how I am.”

When that happens, we lose objectivity. We stop separating who we are from what we believe.

And that’s when the belief starts controlling us.

Stated another way, limiting beliefs begin to define and restrict our resourcefulness.

They limit our creativity, reduce our willingness to act, and even weaken our ability to challenge the beliefs themselves. When we need determination and grit the most, we convince ourselves we don’t have enough of it—keeping us stuck and preventing meaningful change.

Over time, these patterns reinforce inaction. We justify not moving forward rather than confronting the belief directly.

Eventually, we become so conditioned by these beliefs that it becomes difficult to see ourselves any other way—intellectually, emotionally, or even physically.

The result is subtle but powerful: we begin to give control to the belief, rather than maintaining control over it.

The moment a belief becomes identity…
it becomes very difficult to challenge.

First Things First

The first step in overcoming a limiting belief is recognizing it.

You cannot change something you refuse to see.

Most people try to ignore or suppress these thoughts. That doesn’t work. They don’t go away—they just go unchallenged. Once you take the time to recognize and acknowledge that limiting belief, you can begin the journey to overcoming it.

The next step is to look for the root of the limiting belief. For example, let’s imagine the marketing team asks an executive for their input on a new campaign they’re putting together for the company. The executive immediately responds, “Oh, I won’t be able to help. I’m not creative at all.”

However, due to the nature of some of our more inhibiting limiting beliefs, shaking them off is not a one-step process. Some of these negative thoughts are so deeply ingrained, that they feel impossible to overcome. In fact, we might be really resistant to changing this part of our identity. 

Some of our limiting beliefs might also be part of our core beliefs. 

If your belief is rooted in an anecdotal story that is 20 years old, if it's a barrier to the next step you'd like to take, or if it's something that just seems pretty scary, try to uproot it.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Is this belief closer to fact—or closer to fear?
• Is it rooted in fear of rejection or failure?
• Did I choose this belief—or did someone else assign it to me?
• Who would I be without this belief?
• What belief could I replace it with instead?

Wrapping Up

The point is simple: none of us are perfect—and all of us have work to do. But growth does not happen until you challenge the beliefs that are holding you back.

Limiting beliefs don’t disappear on their own. They must be replaced.

And when they are…

You begin to see what was possible all along.

My final thought - We falsely believe that we and the limiting belief are the same.”

Lean into that more—that’s elite-level insight.

If you want to learn more about limiting beliefs and how executive coaching can help you, contact me and let's talk.

About the Authors

Rich Baron is the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Global Coaching Projects at John Mattone Global (JMG) and a Master Certified Intelligent Leadership® Executive Coach. He partners with C-level leaders and high-potential executives around the world to strengthen trust, elevate culture, and drive sustainable transformation.

Rich leads large-scale coaching and cultural initiatives across multiple regions and industries, and serves as a strategic bridge between executive teams, HR, and global coaching networks. He is also the co-host of the Mainline Executive Coaching ACT podcast, recognized as one of the top executive coaching podcasts globally, where he explores the real-world challenges and opportunities facing today’s leaders.

Through his work, Rich is dedicated to CHANGING THE WORLD One Leader, One Organization at a Time® by helping leaders move beyond performance and build the inner architecture required to become world-class executives.