Breaking Free from Life Limiting Beliefs (Part 2)

Welcome back to part 2 of our series on breaking free from life limiting beliefs. In our first video, I shared my personal journey and how I discovered the profound impact of our subconscious beliefs.

If you haven’t watched part 1, I highly recommend pausing this video going back to understand the full context of our exploration. Trust me, it’ll make this journey even more meaningful. Today, though, we’re diving into the five core limiting beliefs and how to identify them in your own life.

Remember, awareness is the first step towards transformation. So let’s identify these five beliefs that can profoundly impact our lives. These beliefs aren’t just fleeting thoughts, they’re deeply ingrained neural patterns that shape our reality, operating below our conscious awareness.

We can pretty much track every negative thought we have back to one of these five core beliefs. So let’s break them down one by one.

The belief ‘I am not enough’ whispers that no matter what you do, it will never be good enough. It fosters an exhausting pursuit of perfectionism or conversely leads to an avoidance out of fear of failure. This mindset doesn’t just limit your potential, it detracts from your ability to enjoy the present, sabotaging relationships, self-compassion and your sense of worth.

Marisa Peer popularized the phrase, I am not enough, highlighting how it becomes a core narrative that drives behaviours and feelings of inadequacy. This belief often underpins cycles of perfectionism, where individuals overcompensate in their attempt to prove their worth or manifest as chronic self-doubt leading to procrastination and fear of trying.

Moving on, ‘I don’t belong’ creates a pervasive sense of being an outsider fostering social anxiety and isolation. This belief can manifest in numerous ways from difficulty forming close relationships to feeling like an imposter in professional settings.

Brene Brown’s research on belonging reveals that this belief often stems from shame and early experiences of exclusion leading to a deep internalised sense of disconnection. She argues that true belonging requires embracing our authentic selves and cultivating self-acceptance rather than seeking external validation.

The belief ‘I am unlovable’ often stems from early experiences of rejection or abandonment. It can lead to a fear of intimacy, self-sabotaging relationships and settling for less than you deserve out of relief that true love is unobtainable.

Louise Hay, a pioneer in self-love and affirmations, illuminates how the belief of being unlovable often originates from early experiences where love felt conditional or unobtainable. Hay emphasises that the journey to belonging begins with offering ourselves the unconditional love we have maybe been deprived of, enabling profound shifts in self-perception and fostering the capacity to form deeper, more authentic connections with others.

Feeling ‘I am powerless’ can trap you in a cycle of inaction and despair. This belief can manifest as learned helplessness, whereas you stop trying to change your circumstances because you believe your efforts won’t make a difference.

Dr. Bruce Lipton’s Biology of Belief teaches that we are co-creators of our experiences and shifting this belief can transform our lives. His research reveals how our subconscious mind governs 95% of our actions, yet we have the ability to reprogram it through intentional practices.

The belief that ‘The world is fundamentally unsafe’ keeps you in a constant state of anxiety and hypervigilance. It can lead to risk aversion, limiting your experiences and opportunities for growth and connection.

Byron Katie’s The Work provides a structured approach to challenge this belief by encouraging others to question its validity. Through a series of thought-provoking questions, The Work invites you to examine whether our fears and assumptions about safety are true or simply stories we’ve internalized.

So now that we’ve looked at these five limiting beliefs, some may have resonated with you already, let’s discuss how we identify them in our own lives. We can’t all have a clairsentient healer tell us.

This process requires curiosity, honesty and self-compassion.

We’ll look at five ways to uncover your core belief, because there is no… one-size-fits-all so use whichever works for you, and you can pop them all in your tool belt should you need them later on.

You can also download a worksheet underneath this video with them all here to try and understand.

Our thoughts are windows to our deeper beliefs so pay attention to thoughts that persistently loop around in your mind especially during challenging moments. These often originate from core beliefs. These thoughts might stem for beliefs like I’m not good enough or I’m unlovable the world is unsafe.

• Take a moment to write down three recurring negative thoughts you’ve had this week.
• For each one ask yourself what belief might be behind this thought. Does it align to one of the five core beliefs we’ve discussed?

Our emotional reactions can reveal a lot about our core beliefs. When you feel strong emotions like anger fear or shame it’s a sign that a core belief is being challenged or reinforced.

These reactions might connect to beliefs like I’m not good enough, I am not important, I do not belong.

• So recall a moment in the past month when you felt particularly upset or a particular emotion at the extreme.
• What happened? What was your emotional reaction? And which of the five core beliefs might trigger this reflect?

The rules we impose on ourselves often reflect our core beliefs. The statements that start with I should always or I must never indicate the standards and expectations we feel compelled to uphold. These rigid rules are often born from our need to prove or protect ourselves in some way. They’re our brains attempt to shield us from the pain of our core belief being reinforced. While these rules may feel like they keep us safe or in control, they often create undue pressure, stress and self-criticism, leaving us feeling trapped or unworthy when we fall short.

By examining the should’s and musts that guide your behaviour, you can identify the belief that underpins them and begin to challenge its power. Here’s an exercise to help you identify your own should and must statements.

• So first, list five should or musts you often tell yourself.
• Reflect on each. What belief is behind the statement? Where did this belief come from? Was it something your grandmother used to say when you were little or your teacher?
• What happens if I released this expectation? Next up, our reaction to compliments can offer profound insights into our core beliefs. While praise might seem like a gift, for some it’s uncomfortable and feels undeserved.

When we struggle to accept a compliment, it’s often because it clashes with a deeply held belief about ourselves. This inner conflict may cause us to downplay the compliment, brush it off or even reject it entirely. Recognising these patterns allows us to identify the underlying belief driving them. By reflecting on why certain complements feel so unsettling, we can uncover the stories we tell ourselves and begin to rewrite them.

Here’s an exercise to help you identify your reactions to praise and criticism.

• So think of the last time you received a compliment. What was your reaction? Did you accept it, downplay it or reject it?
• And what does that reaction reveal to you about your belief?
• Repeat it with a moment of criticism and journal about how you felt receiving both positive and negative feedback.

Our earliest beliefs about ourselves are often formed in childhood, shaped by the messages we received from our caregivers, teachers, peers and the environment. These formative experiences create the foundation for how we see the world and ourselves within it. Whether explicit or subtle, these messages reinforce core beliefs that we carry into adulthood. By revisiting core moments with curiosity and compassion, we can begin to untangle how these experiences shape us and see them for what they are, situations that influenced us, rather than definitive truths about who we are.

• Think back to significant memories from your childhood and write down. One, what messages did you hear repeatedly, either spoken directly or implied through actions?
• How do those messages make you feel at the time?
• What core belief do you think may have stemmed from those experiences? And how has this belief impacted your life and relationships as an adult?

Now, before we wrap up, I want to encourage you to download the worksheet on identifying core beliefs and take some time to work through it and really explore which of these beliefs might be influencing your life.

In our next and final part of the series, we’ll explore powerful techniques to actually change these beliefs. We’ll cover both those you can do on your own, so self-help strategies and also practitioner-led approaches that can help you rewrite your internal narrative.

If you’re feeling excited about the possibility of change, get ready, because part three is going to give you practical, actionable tools to transform your life. But remember, the work starts now with identifying your belief.

So grab that worksheet and I’ll see you in part three. Bye.