How to Overcome Limiting Beliefs And Unleash Potential

Ever feel like there's an invisible force holding you back, whispering what you can and can't achieve? That's a limiting belief in action. It's that sneaky, subconscious story we tell ourselves so often that we start believing it's the absolute truth. The good news? It's just a story, and you're the author with full editing rights.

So, What Exactly Are Limiting Beliefs and Where Do They Come From?

A limiting belief is any deep-seated thought you have about yourself, other people, or the world that boxes you in. It's that quiet, persistent voice in your head saying, "I'm just not a creative person," or "I'll never be good with money." These aren't just fleeting thoughts; they're the invisible fences that silently dictate your choices and stop you from even trying.

Think of it this way: a belief is simply a thought you’ve thought over and over again. Eventually, your brain files it away as a hard fact. And get this—research suggests that up to 95% of our cognitive activity is unconscious . This means most of these core beliefs are running the show on autopilot, shaping our reality from behind the curtain. They become the unwritten rules of your life.

The Origin Story of Your Inner Critic

These beliefs didn't just appear out of nowhere. They were often planted in our minds long before we had the tools to question them. Dig a little, and you’ll usually find the roots of your limiting beliefs in a few common places.

Childhood Programming: Messages we received from parents, teachers, or friends as kids can stick with us for decades. A casual comment like, "You're not really a math person," can quietly blossom into a lifelong conviction that you're incapable with numbers. This can steer you away from certain careers or make you anxious about managing your own finances.

Past Failures and Heartbreaks: We all have them. A business that flopped or a painful breakup can easily transform into a sweeping, self-defeating conclusion. "I failed at that business, so I guess I'm just not cut out to be an entrepreneur." We take one specific event and let it define our entire potential.

A single negative experience can become the "proof" your brain clings to, justifying a much broader—and usually false—story about who you are. This is how we learn to play small, even when we’re capable of so much more.

How These Sneaky Beliefs Show Up

The first real step to breaking free is learning to spot these narratives in your everyday thoughts. They love to hide in plain sight, often dressed up as absolute truths using words like "always" and "never."

• "I can't..." • : This is a classic dream-killer. (e.g., "I can't start my own business.")

• "I'm not..." • : This one is an attack on your very identity. (e.g., "I'm not a natural leader.")

• "I shouldn't..." • : This often points to a rule you've absorbed from society or family. (e.g., "I shouldn't ask for that much money.")

Learning how to overcome limiting beliefs isn't about pointing fingers at the past. It’s about recognizing that those internal rules were written a long, long time ago. And now, you're the one holding the pen.

So, How Do You Actually Find Your Limiting Beliefs?

Let's be real—you can't fix a problem you don't know you have. The same is true for your mind. Before you can start challenging those pesky limiting beliefs, you first have to get good at spotting them in the wild. And trust me, they’re sneaky. They love to disguise themselves as "being realistic" or "just protecting myself."

The best time to catch these thought gremlins is when you're feeling a bit raw. Pay attention to that little voice in your head when you're stressed, when you hit a roadblock, or when you find yourself endlessly procrastinating on something that matters. Those are the moments when your subconscious scripts get loud.

What story pops into your head when you shy away from speaking up in a meeting? Or when you talk yourself out of applying for that dream job? That’s it. That’s your starting point.

Tune Into Your Inner Critic

A fantastic way to drag these hidden assumptions into the light is by journaling. But I’m not talking about a simple "dear diary" entry. You need to ask yourself some tough questions and be brutally honest with your answers. This is for your eyes only, so don't hold back.

Here are a few prompts to get the ball rolling:

• What's something I’m convinced I "can't" do, no matter what?

• If I totally bombed my current project, what deep-down story would I tell myself about why?

• Finish this sentence with the first thing that comes to mind: “I’m just not the kind of person who __________.”

• When do I feel like a total fraud, and what just happened right before that feeling hit?

These questions are designed to sneak past your logical brain and get to the core narratives that are really running the show. As you write, you'll start noticing themes—the same old fears and judgments popping up again and again. Those are the building blocks of your limiting beliefs.

Key takeaway: Limiting beliefs aren't just random negative thoughts. They're part of a system, usually tied to a core fear about your worth, safety, or ability to handle things. Finding that core fear is like pulling a weed up by the root instead of just snipping off the top.

Use a Shortcut to See the Patterns

Frameworks like the Enneagram are absolute gold for this kind of inner detective work. Once you know your Enneagram type, you get a cheat sheet for the specific fears that are probably fueling your most stubborn limiting beliefs.

For example, an Enneagram Type One is often terrified of being "bad" or defective. This can easily morph into a belief like, "If what I do isn't absolutely perfect, it's worthless." Meanwhile, a Type Six, whose core fear is being without support, might constantly think, "I can't possibly trust my own decision until I get a second (and third, and fourth) opinion."

Knowing your type gives you a map and an "X" that marks the spot where the mental baggage is likely buried. It’s not about boxing yourself in—it’s about giving you a head start. Understanding your type's patterns can also shine a light on your greatest gifts. If you're curious about that side of the coin, you can learn more about how to find your strengths based on your personality.

The following table gives a quick look at how these beliefs often connect to the core fears of each Enneagram type.

Common Limiting Beliefs by Enneagram Type

This table offers a glimpse into the common limiting beliefs that can arise from each Enneagram type's core fears and motivations.

Recognizing these patterns in yourself is the first, crucial step toward rewriting them into something that actually serves you.

This isn't just some fuzzy, feel-good concept; it has a real impact.

The data is pretty staggering. A whopping 60% of people admit that these kinds of beliefs hold them back, tanking their confidence and killing their productivity. That alone shows how vital it is to get a handle on them.

Using Evidence to Challenge Your Inner Critic

Okay, so you’ve managed to drag one of your limiting beliefs out of the shadows and into the light. Now what? Staring it down is a great first step, but it often just stares right back, maybe even a little smugly.

The secret isn't to get into a shouting match with your inner critic. That's a fight you'll rarely win because it doesn't play fair. Instead, you need to switch roles. Stop being the defendant and become the lead detective. Your inner critic runs on shoddy, emotion-fueled hearsay; it's time to counter it with some cold, hard facts.

Think of it like a courtroom drama. Your limiting belief is the prosecution, making a dramatic, tear-filled argument based on flimsy evidence. You're the sharp-witted defense attorney, ready to dismantle their case with a mountain of irrefutable proof. Your mission is to expose that belief for what it is: a compelling story, not a life sentence.

Putting Your Beliefs on the Witness Stand

Let’s get our hands dirty. Grab a notebook or open a fresh note on your phone. At the very top, write down the limiting belief you're ready to tackle. We’ll use a crowd-pleaser for this example: “I am terrible at public speaking.”

Now, draw a line down the middle of the page. On the left side, label it “Evidence FOR This Belief.” On the right, “Evidence AGAINST This Belief.”

Go ahead and fill out the "FOR" column. Be brutally honest. What's the "proof" your inner critic loves to replay on a loop?

• "That one time my voice cracked during a team presentation."

• "The feeling of my mind going completely blank when my boss put me on the spot."

• "I still remember stuttering through my speech in high school."

This part is usually pretty easy. Our brains are wired to keep these negative moments on speed dial. The real work—and where the magic happens—is in the other column.

Your feelings are not facts. The anxiety you feel about public speaking is real, but it is not objective evidence that you are bad at it. The goal of this exercise is to separate the emotional charge from the factual reality.

Gathering Your Counter-Evidence

It's time to build your defense. In the "AGAINST" column, you need to become a relentless fact-finder. Your job is to hunt down every single piece of evidence, no matter how tiny, that contradicts your negative belief. You have to actively fight your brain's confirmation bias.

For our "I am terrible at public speaking" belief, the counter-evidence might look something like this:

• The time you perfectly explained the plot of a confusing movie to a friend.

• That meeting last week where you made a point and saw people nodding along.

• Someone once said you explained something really well, even if you brushed it off at the time.

• Every time you've successfully told a joke or a story that made a group of people laugh.

This whole approach is a cornerstone of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a method with a ridiculously successful track record. Research consistently shows that CBT techniques can dismantle unhelpful beliefs with success rates between 60% and 80% . In one survey of adults using CBT-style self-help, a whopping 72% reported huge improvements in their confidence. You can read more about the powerful research findings on this topic if you're curious.

As you meticulously build your case, something incredible happens. The "AGAINST" column almost always ends up longer—often much longer—than the "FOR" column. You start to see with crystal clarity that your belief isn't based on reality, but on a few cherry-picked memories amplified by fear.

This process systematically starves the limiting belief of its power, exposing it for what it truly is: just a biased opinion, not a fact set in stone.

Rewriting Your Internal Script with a Growth Mindset

So you’ve torn down the rickety old shed of your limiting beliefs. Awesome! But now you’re standing in an empty lot. The real work—and the fun—begins now: building something new and amazing in its place. This is where you grab the pen and become the author of your own story by cultivating a growth mindset .

What’s a growth mindset? It's the powerful, game-changing idea that your talents and abilities aren't set in stone. They're muscles you can build with good old-fashioned dedication and hard work.

This simple shift is everything. It lets you stop seeing failure as a final verdict and start seeing it as a vital clue. Instead of "I failed, so I'm a failure," your inner voice starts saying, "I failed, so I just got a masterclass in what not to do next time." This isn't about slapping a smiley-face sticker on a bad day; it’s a fundamental rewiring of how you view challenges.

And this isn't just fluffy, feel-good talk. The data is in. People who are taught to think this way often see their performance jump by a staggering 20% to 30% . One huge study found that 83% of people who adopted a growth mindset reported being less afraid of failure, and they saw a 40% increase in hitting their goals. You can dig into more of the fascinating data on these kinds of global shifts in this insightful report .

Crafting Beliefs That Actually Stick

Here’s a pro tip: generic affirmations often fall flat. Shouting "I am a millionaire!" into the mirror when your bank account says otherwise just makes your brain’s BS detector go wild. The key is to build a bridge between where you are and where you want to go.

Create "bridge beliefs"—statements that feel true enough to get you started. They are stepping stones.

• Old Belief: • "I'm just awful with money."

• Bridge Belief: • "I am fully capable of learning how to manage my money better."

• New Belief: • "Every day, I'm getting more confident and skilled with my finances."

See the difference? It's believable. It's actionable. It’s a path, not a platitude.

Your goal is to create an inner coach, not an inner critic. You want a voice that cheers you on from the sidelines, not one that trips you at the starting line. This conscious effort creates a whole new mental playground where growth is the name of the game.

As you get the hang of this, practices like mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques can be a huge help. They train you to notice your thoughts without getting tangled up in them, making it way easier to spot an old script and consciously swap it for a better one.

Visualize Your New Reality

Once you've got your new, empowering belief, don't just say it. See it . Visualization is like a dress rehearsal for your brain, and it's shockingly effective.

Carve out a few minutes each day to close your eyes and really marinate in your new reality. If your new script is "I am a confident and engaging public speaker," then imagine it all in vivid detail. Picture yourself on stage, feeling the warmth of the lights. Hear your voice, strong and clear. See the audience captivated, nodding along. Feel that surge of pride as you nail your closing line.

This isn’t woo-woo magic; it's pure neuroscience. You're literally forging new neural pathways, making your new belief the brain's new default setting. You're rewriting your own code, one thought, one image at a time.

Putting Your New Beliefs into Action

Alright, let's talk about where the real magic happens. A new belief is like a seed you've just planted. It’s full of potential, but it's not going anywhere without some dirt, water, and sun. For the new, empowering stories you've crafted for yourself, real-world action is the crucial ingredient that makes them take root and grow strong.

This is where the rubber meets the road. It’s the moment you stop just thinking differently and start living differently. It’s one thing to tell yourself, “I am capable of leading,” but it’s a whole other universe to actually step up and lead something. Your actions become the undeniable proof that cements your internal shift into a new reality.

Start Small, Win Big

Now, hold on. This isn't about making some massive, terrifying leap of faith. Honestly, that’s usually a fast track back to the old, familiar comfort zone you’re trying to escape. The secret is to start with small, low-stakes challenges that are in line with your new belief. This is how you build real momentum and confidence without completely freaking out your nervous system.

Let’s say you’ve been working on flipping the script from “I’m not a creative person” to “I am exploring my creative side.” Your next move isn't to sign up for a public art show. No way. Instead, you could try something like this:

• This week: • Spend just • 15 • minutes doodling in a notebook. No pressure, no judgment. Just make some marks on a page.

• Next week: • Try taking one interesting photo on your phone every single day.

• The week after: • Cook a new recipe or just rearrange a small corner of your living room.

See how that works? Each tiny action is like casting a vote for your new identity. It’s a little nudge to your subconscious that says, “See? We can do this.” These small wins start to stack up, creating a positive feedback loop. Your actions reinforce your new beliefs, and those stronger beliefs will inspire you to take slightly bigger actions next time. Many of these actions also have the amazing side effect of improving your connections with others—for more on that, check out our guide to building better relationship skills .

A new belief without action is just a nice thought. A new belief with action becomes your new identity. This is the moment your transformation goes from being a mental exercise to a lived experience.

Treat Setbacks as Data, Not Defeats

As you start wading into this new territory, you’re going to stumble. I guarantee it. It’s not a matter of if , but when . And when it happens, that old, nagging belief will pop its head up and gleefully shout, “I told you so!”

This is the make-or-break moment. You absolutely cannot see a setback as a final verdict on who you are. Instead, you have to treat it like data. Pure and simple.

So, you tried to speak up in a meeting and it came out all wrong? You didn't fail. You just collected some incredibly useful information.

What did you learn?

• Maybe you realized you need to jot down a few bullet points beforehand.

• Perhaps you discovered you need to listen a little more before jumping in.

• You might have even learned that 9 a.m. meetings are just not your prime time.

Reframing it this way changes everything. A misstep is no longer a personal failure; it’s just a course correction. By consistently taking these small, brave steps and learning from every single outcome, you're not just chipping away at a limiting belief—you are actively, intentionally, and powerfully building the person you've always wanted to be.

Your Questions About Limiting Beliefs, Answered

Once you start this work, the questions start popping up. It's totally normal. As you begin to poke and prod at the stories you've told yourself for years, you’re bound to hit a few snags. I've heard them all, so let's tackle some of the most common ones head-on.

How Long Does This Actually Take?

Ah, the million-dollar question. I wish I could give you a neat little timeline, but the truth is, it's different for everyone. How long it takes to dismantle a limiting belief depends entirely on how long it's been squatting in your head.

A belief baked into your childhood will naturally take more time and gentle repetition to rewire than a negative thought you picked up last year. The secret sauce isn't speed—it's consistency . If you stick with it, you can genuinely start to feel a shift in a matter of weeks. But for those really deep-seated beliefs? Lasting change might be a project of several months. The trick is to celebrate the small wins, not stare at the calendar.

What if I Can't Find Any Evidence to Prove My Belief Wrong?

This is probably the most common wall people hit. Limiting beliefs are sneaky little things; they’re incredibly good at making you see only the "proof" that supports them. It’s like they give you special glasses that filter out all contradictory evidence.

If you’re stuck, you need to think smaller. Don't go looking for a mountain of evidence that you're a networking superstar. Instead, search for one tiny molehill of an exception.

For instance, if your belief is, "I'm always awkward at parties," can you remember one single conversation that felt… okay? Not amazing, just okay? That’s your starting point. You can also phone a friend—ask someone you trust for their honest take. Their outside perspective can cut through your mental fog in an instant.

The goal isn't to find overwhelming proof of your brilliance overnight. It’s about finding a single, tiny crack in the foundation of that negative belief. That's how the light gets in.

Can I Still Be Successful with Limiting Beliefs?

Of course! Let's be real: tons of outwardly successful people are privately battling imposter syndrome or whispering "I'm a fraud" to themselves. Success and limiting beliefs can, and often do, coexist.

The problem is the cost . These beliefs act like an invisible anchor, creating a boatload of unnecessary stress and anxiety. They can stop you from truly savoring your wins or prevent you from even trying for that next big thing. So, working on them isn't just about achieving more—it’s about achieving with more peace, confidence, and joy. For many, this is tangled up with people-pleasing, and we've got a whole guide on how to stop being a people pleaser if that resonates.

Limiting Belief vs. Realistic Assessment—What's the Difference?

This is a critical distinction, and it's where people often get confused. A realistic assessment is grounded in current, observable facts. A limiting belief, on the other hand, is a sweeping, negative judgment about who you are .

Here’s a clear example:

• Realistic Assessment: • "I do not currently have the certification required to be a surgeon."

• Limiting Belief: • "I'm not smart enough to ever become a surgeon."

See the difference? The first is a simple statement of fact—a skills gap that can be closed. The second is an attack on your identity that slams the door shut on any possibility of change. One defines a problem to be solved; the other feels like a life sentence.

Ready to discover the core motivations driving your beliefs? Take the free, scientifically validated Enneagram assessment from Enneagram Universe and receive a personalized roadmap for your personal growth journey. Find your type today at Enneagram Universe .