Are Limiting Beliefs Sabotaging Your Business?
Posted on December 06, 2017 by Andrea Scharlatt, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Learn more about what limiting beliefs are and how they may be sabotaging your business success.
They say that success is 99% an inside job, and I have absolutely found that to be true. One of the number one reasons women fail in their businesses is the limiting beliefs and self-doubts they hold inside. Anyone can learn the tools and techniques of building a business, but only those who let go of their limiting beliefs are likely to achieve true success.
What is a limiting belief?
A limiting belief is an idea about oneself that holds them back from achieving success in a desired area of their life. Typically, these beliefs stem from childhood, when we were most susceptible to absorbing negative messages about ourselves. For example, if you were bullied as a child you may have interpreted that as you being unlikeable. Or if you struggled in school you may have interpreted that as you not being smart enough. Or if your first love interest broke your heart, you may have interpreted that as you being not good enough.
Why it matters in business?
Starting a new business can be a time when people are particularly susceptible to their deepest limiting beliefs. Breaking into business can feel scary and very vulnerable! If you find that you are feeling “stuck” and unable to launch or grow your new business, chances are you suffer from one of these limiting beliefs.
1. I’m not good enough. If you suffer from this belief you are unlikely to even talk about your desires to start or grow your business because deep down inside you don’t believe you have what it takes to succeed. Often this stems from a deeper fear of failure which is avoided by dismissing the possibility of success in the first place.
2. It needs to be perfect. Perfectionism is the kiss of death in business. Why? Because there is no such thing. And if you continue to wait until things are perfect, you will never move forward! The need to be perfect often stems for a deep need for approval from others. You may not want to put anything out in the world until it is perfect, because you fear that you will be judged or rejected.
3. I might fail. Yes. Indeed you might. And most entrepreneurs do fall on their butts a few time as they are getting out of the gate! Mistakes are some of the most important ways that business owners learn how to get things right. Despite the importance of mistakes, fear of failure is one of the top reasons people never get started in the first place. Fear of failure is often tied to a deeper fear of rejection or abandonment by other.
4. I don’t have anything of value to offer. The idea that you don’t have a special skill or service of value to offer others is purely a limit of imagination! There are people who run businesses styling dogs’ hair, delivering home cooked meals, teaching meditation, creating spreadsheets, taking pictures, tutoring, etc. There is even a business out there that specializes in sending greeting cards on potatoes. I’m not kidding. There are an infinite number of possibilities for self-employment. You absolutely DO have a skill, service, or product that you can market. This limiting belief is often fed by deeper feelings of self-doubt and low self-esteem.
5. I don’t have time. This is one of the most popular avoidance techniques used for people who have one of the other limiting beliefs listed above. Yes, I know you are busy. We all are! But the truth is, we make time for the things that are important to us. When is the last time you watched a tv show, or numbed out on Facebook, or played a game online. These are all great activities, but they all show that YOU DO HAVE TIME. It just depends on how you choose to spend it.
What to do about it?
In order to succeed in business (and in life!), it is important to identify and overcome your limiting beliefs. Otherwise you will always feel as if you are swimming upstream, and it will be hard to make much progress on your goals.
Do you need more help overcoming your limiting beliefs? Contact me to find out how my powerful combination of mindset coaching and EMDR can forever free you from the beliefs that are holding you back.
