Identifying and Breaking Free from Limiting Beliefs - A Guide for Women in Leadership

As a woman in a leadership position, you’re likely familiar with the pressures and challenges that come with your role. Yet, underneath the demands of day-to-day leadership, many women find themselves facing a more internal battle: the self-doubt, the inner critic, and the worry that they're somehow "not enough."

These are not mere passing thoughts—they’re limiting beliefs and deeply ingrained stories about who you think you are and what you think you’re capable of. And the first step in moving past these beliefs is learning to identify them.

What Are Limiting Beliefs?

Limiting beliefs are stories, rooted in early experiences, that shape how you see yourself and the world. They’re automatic, conditioned thoughts that have become so habitual that they feel true—even though they aren’t. For many women in leadership, these beliefs go something like, “I’m not cut out for this,” “I don’t belong here,” or “I’ll mess it up.” And the kicker? These thoughts, often formed in childhood, continue to shape your experiences today.

How to Identify Your Limiting Beliefs: The Quick Hack

To uncover these stories, you don’t need complex techniques or endless self-analysis. Instead, here’s a straightforward hack.

Ask yourself, “What do I say to myself when I’m in my stuff?”

Think of those times when self-doubt or overwhelm kicks in:

• When you’re facing a high-stakes presentation.
• When you’re managing a challenging team situation.
• When you’re being especially hard on yourself after a mistake or setback.

In these moments, take a step back and listen to what you’re saying internally. Are you telling yourself, “I can’t cope,” “I’m a failure,” or “I don’t deserve to be here”? Becoming aware of these thoughts will help you recognise the mental script you’ve been living by—and seeing it is the first step toward change.

Raising Self-Awareness - Why Knowing Your Stories Matters

As a leader, it’s essential to raise your levels of self-awareness. The stories you tell yourself affect your decisions, your actions, and ultimately, your impact. But here’s the thing about change and transformation You can’t change what you can’t see.

Given that we operate on autopilot—running on unconscious thoughts and beliefs over 95% of the time—self-awareness is the key to breaking the cycle.

These limiting thoughts aren’t new!. They began in childhood, shaping your identity and becoming deeply embedded. Over time, they’ve turned into “truths” about who you think you are and what you think you’re capable of. But they’re only stories, and like any story, they can be rewritten.

Examples of Limiting Beliefs and Their Impact

When you catch yourself in a moment of self-doubt or stress, notice if you’re saying things like:

• “I can’t cope with this.”
• “I’m always failing.”
• “I’ll never measure up.”
• “I don’t deserve this role.”

If you think about it, these thoughts aren’t statements about your abilities; they’re echoes of old, conditioned beliefs—thoughts that may have been formed before you even reached the age of five. They have nothing to do with who you truly are or what you’re capable of. Yet, when these beliefs run unchecked, they influence how you show up, how you lead, and ultimately, they keep you from fully thriving.

Taking Action - Capturing Your Stories Through Journaling

Once you start listening for these limiting beliefs, you’ll find that one of the best ways to capture and understand them is through journaling. Journaling has long been regarded as a powerful high-performance habit, particularly for leaders. When you write down the thoughts that arise in moments of stress or doubt, you begin to see patterns and stories that might have gone unnoticed.

Keeping a journal allows you to recognize thought patterns and start disentangling from them. Each time you catch yourself thinking, “I don’t belong here,” or “I’m going to mess this up,” start noting it down. This simple act of recording your thoughts can reveal a lot about your internal narrative and bring to light the beliefs that need to be questioned.

It’s Not About Battling Negative Thoughts

A common question I hear is, “How do I stop negative thinking?” The truth is, it’s not about stopping negative thoughts—because your mind is always going to produce noise. The goal isn’t to silence your thoughts but to stop giving them power over you.

When a negative thought arises, the question is, how much attention are you paying it? Are you treating it as fact? Are you letting it guide your actions? The more you can distance yourself from these automatic thoughts and see them as just “mental noise,” the less power they’ll hold over you.

This isn’t about doing battle with your mind. Your mind will always produce thoughts. But as you learn to identify and recognize these limiting beliefs, you gain the choice to stop accepting them as truth. The less attention you give these beliefs, the weaker their hold becomes.

Reclaiming Your Leadership Potential

By becoming more conscious of your inner dialogue, you can start seeing the stories for what they are—outdated beliefs that don’t serve you. This level of self-awareness opens up the space to rewrite those stories and build a mindset that supports your success, rather than limits it.

You’re not your limiting beliefs. You’re not the stories you’ve been telling yourself since childhood. You’re a capable, powerful leader. And the more aware you become of your inner script, the more empowered you’ll be to step into your role with confidence and clarity.