One of my favorite moments when coaching happens when I watch clients crush their own limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs can be stories about ourselves or others and beliefs about the world that we believe to be true, but when examined closely, prevent us from moving forward. Limiting beliefs are powerful because we are often unaware of them.

But why do we hold beliefs that ultimately hold us back? To help answer this question, it’s useful to learn how we think our limiting beliefs serve us. Here are three reasons we hold limiting beliefs.

Your Limiting Belief Keeps You Safe

Dating back to prehistoric times, our brains have been hardwired to keep us safe. The default setting is to ensure our survival. To live in our modern world, however, we don’t need these default settings anymore as we are not constantly in danger from predators. What goes on in your head when you’re called to do something that’s outside of your comfort zone? Do you jump at the opportunity or do you hesitate and think of      reasons not to do it? We all want and need a level of safety in our lives; but if we lead with safety in our decision-making, we hold ourselves back.

Your Limiting Belief Keeps You with What’s Familiar

What feelings are you most familiar with? What I mean is: what are the feelings and thoughts that you’re so used to, so much so that they direct your interpretation of everything you see? If you are someone who likes to prepare for the worst, how would you feel about being in a situation wherein you need to let go and trust something or someone outside of yourself? When we only use the lens of the familiar, we will miss the random magical moments that come our way because these moments require us to think and feel differently.

Your Limiting Belief Requires No Effort

Limiting beliefs are powerful because we are unaware of them. Over the years, they have been ingrained in how we operate our lives. It’s easy to get lost in life’s busyness, but if we want to be who we’re meant to be, we need to work at it. Unearthing your limiting beliefs takes a lot of reflection. Taking a deep dive into one’s inner world is a task few are willing to do. Will you?

How will you discover your limiting beliefs? I invite you to journal as you ask yourself these questions: What are you afraid to risk? What are the things you do just to feel safe? What are your default go-to feelings and what are the opposite feelings that, for a change, you want to feel? What will it take for you to feel those opposite feelings?

If you are seriously considering these questions, congratulations for stepping into your inner world! Let me know, so I can help you get to it.