“If you believe you can, or you believe you can’t, either way you are right” – Henry Ford

Confidence has such power. When we’re confident we can feel invincible and be simply awesome at whatever we’re doing. However, it’s quite the opposite when we’re lacking confidence and even worse if we don’t believe we can improve our situation. If we find ourselves in this situation then we need to be mindful how limiting beliefs influence our level of success.

Facts shouldn’t be confused with limiting beliefs. For instance, as much as I flap my arms, I’m unable to fly. It has nothing to do with whether I do or don’t believe it’s possible. It’s just a fact.

On the other hand, there are activities we’re more than capable of doing, but don’t due to believing we can’t. Tony Robbins says: “If you continue to tell yourself the same story, it will continue to be true.”

I often see white-collar workers guilty of having their limiting beliefs get in the way from being able to reach their potential. Regardless as to what’s caused the limiting belief, they don’t fully embrace conquering it so without completely immersing themselves to defeat it, they determine it’s a fact and not just a limiting belief. It’s a vicious circle where behaviour needs to be called out or the belief becomes the norm.

This is particularly true for workers who struggle to reach their KPI’s. If they aren’t confident they can achieve the result, the limiting belief sees them not taking action or doing enough of the right work. It’s why people in these situations can find themselves on a performance plan.

Three steps to help resolve your limiting beliefs are:

Identify the limiting beliefs – be specific and differentiate facts from beliefs
Determine necessary actions – what do you need to do to conquer the belief?
Measure – are results improving?

To perform at a higher level often requires pushing through barriers. Don’t let limiting beliefs stop you from realising your potential.