Seeing the Invisible: Overcoming Limiting Beliefs

Limiting Beliefs Influence More Than Just Our Personal Lives; They Profoundly Impact Our Professional Success as Well

In this issue, we delve into the subtle yet powerful barriers holding you back from reaching your fullest potential: limiting beliefs.

Working closely with clients to navigate limiting beliefs is a cornerstone of my coaching practice. Today, I want to spotlight the beliefs that are particularly deep-seated among women. Our articles on limiting beliefs in women are nformed by the groundbreaking research of Dr. Claire Zammit, a champion of women’s empowerment and the founder of the Institute for Women-Centered Coaching, Training, and Leadership. I was introduced to Dr. Zammit's work this spring at a workshop. This encounter led me to a training intensive with her. I'll share some highlights from Dr. Zammit's work in this month's newsletters.

Let's Explore

Did you know that as many as 80% of women wrestle with internal blocks? These blocks prevent them from not only achieving but even from imagining their full potential. This staggering statistic includes many outwardly successful people who experience an internal disconnect from their accomplishments, leaving them questioning why they are unfulfilled by the markers of success.

To illustrate, let me share a brief success story from my coaching practice. I worked with a high-achieving client who struggled with the belief that she was not achieving enough despite her successes. Through targeted coaching sessions, she was able to loosen the hold this belief, a belief she was 'not enough' had on her. She gradually began to see herself in a new light, leading to increased confidence, satisfaction, and ease in her career and life, while maintaining her success.

While all genders experience these barriers, the way they are internalized and how they manifest in life differs significantly.

Understanding the Roots

Limiting beliefs often stem from early life experiences and societal messages, such as critical remarks or hyper-correction from authority figures, unrealistic media portrayals, or our failures.

Over time, these experiences are reinforced and coalesce into a core part of our self-image, subtly dictating our actions and reactions. For many women, these inputs are internalized differently than they are by their male counterparts, making the standard advice ineffective in overcoming their blocks.

A Closer Look at Common Limiting Beliefs in the Workplace

Here’s how our beliefs about ourselves and others can limit professional growth and disrupting our work-life balance.

• Overutilization or Underutilization of Skills: From perfectionism to avoiding leadership roles, these behaviors reflect our belief that we are not enough or must be or do more.
• Overcompensation: Taking on unsustainable workloads to become visible, indicating a feeling that your work is not noticed.
• Withdrawal from Collaborative Opportunities: Retreating from team interactions, which can be misconstrued as disinterest, may actually be a sense that you must do it all on your own.
• Lack of Advocacy for Self: Hesitation to speak up in performance reviews or promotion discussions, stemming from a belief that one’s efforts are overlooked or that you don’t have “the right” to voice your opinion.
• Reluctance to Delegate: A need to handle everything independently, often leading to bottlenecks and inefficiency, pointing to a belief that others cannot meet your needs.
• Impaired Mentorship and Support: Difficulty in seeking or offering help may be a sign that you do not feel you are deserving of support or that you can do it on your own.
• Impaired Decision-Making: Indecision and procrastination due to doubts about one’s capabilities.

The 'Inner Glass Ceiling'

Beyond keeping us off balance, our limiting beliefs can circumvent our ability to experience and normalize the sense of deep satisfaction and completeness that comes with fulfillment.

Consider the story of Eva, a client who had all the external markers of success forged through a career path marked by her drive, creativity, and ability to form successful teams. She had come to terms with being driven by imposter syndrome and worked through what I refer to as first-level limiting beliefs.?

While she had gained confidence and greater balance in her life, she felt something was still missing. Throughout her life, she had the ability to envision and achieve her goals, even in the embrace of imposter syndrome. But now, she found herself unable to see what was next—as if a curtain had been drawn across the window to her future. The strategies that had previously helped her overcome obstacles were no longer as effective.

Eva was battling an internal glass ceiling, a phrase created by Dr. Zammitt to describe this feeling of fulfillment that is just beyond one's reach. Eve's internal glass ceiling was not only limiting her fulfillment but obscuring it from her view. Blocks of this nature have to be approached differently in order to create a sustainable change.

Your Turn

Reflect on areas where you feel stagnant or unfulfilled. Can you identify an underlying belief influencing this feeling? Consider how it has shaped your choices.

TIP:? It's challenging to see our limiting beliefs through the lens that created them.? If this is the case, look for your patterns of behavior as in indicator a limiting belief is present. Consider working with a coach or therapist who can notice the things you cannot see.

Conclusion

Next week we will further explore limiting beliefs and provide you with small steps that can start to transform them. Remember, the journey of overcoming these beliefs is not just about removing barriers but about empowering yourself and learning to lead a life that’s truly fulfilling.

If these insights resonate and you're seeking deeper transformation, explore working with a coach.? You would be surprised how transformative it can be.??