Everyone goes through life turning experiences and lessons learned into reusable mental snippets like thoughts and beliefs. Generally, this is a good thing because these snippets help speed up your mental processing of new but related events or decisions. However, these thoughts and beliefs can also restrict what you register and consider when experiencing and making decisions in the future. For this reason, it’s important to also be aware of which beliefs are examples of limiting beliefs that hold you back instead of facilitating your life moving forward.

Which Thoughts and Beliefs Are Limiting

Thoughts are simply conscious ideas produced by thinking. They’re language-based interpretations and expressions of experiences and remembering. A belief, on the other hand, is a thought or group of thoughts you hold to be true.

Limiting beliefs are particular beliefs that block a person’s mental, emotional, physical, or energetic flow. And, as a consequence, impede or prevent life from moving forward.

They hold you back from doing all sorts of interesting and important things, engaging with others, embracing and using your gifts, or creating change within yourself or in your life in general.

As a Master Energy Healer, I believe that everything and everyone is made of energy. That includes or thoughts and beliefs. Unfortunately, some thoughts and beliefs can trap the flow of your energy, which could mean neural, chemical, mechanical, thermal, electromagnetic, and subtle (chakras, auras, and meridians) energy flowing within you and giving you life and all your capacities.

Beliefs That Sound Positive Can Be Limiting Too

Any belief, whether expressed in the positive or negative can be limiting in specific circumstances. The thought, “I know what I’m doing” sounds confident. But if spoken by a young boy standing on the edge of a cliff taking a selfie, you would likely still quickly take action and usher him back to safety.

In my work, I’ve met many female clients who are mothers and steadfastly maintain the belief that “my kids always come first.” The thought is laudable, natural, and a common limiting belief. But, many of these women are overworked helicopter moms, craving just a bit of personal time, and insistent that there is nothing they can do because they must fulfill an endless list of tasks for their children and many of them are trivial, unnecessary, or could easily be shifted to the children themselves.

Another obvious group of people clinging to a long list of limiting beliefs are people pleasers. Under the inclination to say “yes,” is rationalization, which is actually a negative belief.

60 Examples of Limiting Beliefs

As noted above, not all limiting beliefs are easy to spot. Some of your beliefs are likely second nature, and thus never challenged. Others are throughly engrained and axiomatic making them difficult perceived as a limitation. You may be aware of them, but simply believe them to be true or facts.

Therefore, to help you identify examples of your limiting beliefs, the following lists highlight common limiting beliefs associated with a range of areas our lives such as wealth, relationships or self-image.

Communication

1. No one understands me
2. No one listens to me
3. I can’t explain myself
4. I can’t speak in public
5. I’d rather listen than talk
6. I’m afraid to speak up in meeting

Competency

7. I’m not very good at that
8. I’m not smart enough
9. I’ll never get it right
10. I have trouble with follow through
11. It has to be perfect
12. But, I don’t have enough confidence
13. I have to do it myself if I want it to be right
14. I don’t have time to invest in myself

Love and Relationship

15. He is my only true love
16. No one will ever love me again
17. I have to sacrifice for love
18. I can’t trust anyone
19. It’s all my fault
20. I’m not great at relationships
21. I’m too old for a relationship

“The Other”

22. I know their type
23. They’re all like that
24. They’re all …….
25. I can’t stand …..
26. You can’t trust them
27. They’re all stupid
28. I’m not like them

Personal Transformation

29. I can’t change
30. Nothing ever changes
31. I can’t do that
32. Nothing I do works
33. I don’t know what I want
34. I don’t have time
35. I’m afraid of failure
36. I don’t have what it takes
37. I’ll never achieve my dreams

Self-Image and Appearance

38. I’m too fat
39. I have to loose weight
40. If only I lost X pounds/kilograms, I could ….
41. I’m not his type
42. I don’t fit in
43. I can’t carry that off
44. I’m too old for that

Self-Worth

45. No one cares about me
46. I’m not worthy
47. I’m not good enough
48. I don’t deserve it
49. No one cares about me
50. I can’t be who I really am
51. I don’t matter

Wealth and Money

52. I’ll never make any money
53. I’ll never be rich
54. You can never have too much money
55. Money is evil
56. People wouldn’t pay that much for my services
57. I couldn’t charge that much for my services
58. I only work for the money
59. I can’t afford quality
60. I’m just not good with money

These Beliefs Are Holding You Back

If you can identify some limiting beliefs from these lists, what can you do about them? Typically, each limiting belief has several – even many – variations swimming around in your brain. You’ll have to deal with them too if you want to shift the mindset or behaviors associated with them. Fortunately, letting go of limiting beliefs is fairly straightforward if you’re willing to do the work.

These workshops and blog posts can help you get started and even offer methods that can work for you.

• Online and in-person short workshop entitled: “Mind Shift: Releasing Limiting Beliefs“
• Workshop for the workplace entitled: “How to Release Limiting Beliefs and Improve Performance.”
• Search my Mind, Body, Spirit Blog using the term “limiting beliefs”