It is not your beliefs holding your back

There’s a lot of language around “limiting beliefs.”

As though success is simply a matter of thinking the right thoughts loudly enough.

There’s some truth in that idea - but it barely touches the surface.

Most people who set out to build something, change something, or reach for more do believe, at least on some level, that it’s possible.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t begin!

We don’t usually pursue things we believe are completely unreachable. That would feel irrational, even cruel.

You might doubt yourself, you might feel unsure or cautious but there is usually some belief present - or at least enough to start.

And yet, so often, people remain stuck.

The issue isn’t usually belief, it is the body.

You can believe intellectually that you’re capable - and still feel terrified when it’s time to act.

You can believe you deserve success - and feel a knot in your stomach when opportunity appears.

You can believe you are competent - and feel small, exposed, or out of place as soon as you step forward.

These feelings don’t respond to logic.

They don’t dissolve because you “know better.”

That’s because they aren’t held in the thinking mind.

They live deeper - in the nervous system, in memory, in old emotional patterns that were formed long before you had language for them. Patterns shaped by experiences where it wasn’t safe to be visible, confident, or fully yourself.

So when someone asks, “Do you believe you can do this?”

The honest answer is often: Yes — and I’m scared.

The fear doesn’t mean the belief is false.I

t means something inside you is trying to protect you.

Healing isn’t about forcing new beliefs on top of old ones. 

It’s about listening to the feelings underneath, the fear, the tension, the sense of not belonging, and understanding where they came from.

When those feelings soften, beliefs change naturally. Not through effort, but through relief.

You don’t have to convince yourself you’re capable, you have to help your body feel safe enough to let you try.

When that happens, action becomes quieter.

You stop pushing yourself forward and start moving with yourself instead.

And things that once felt impossible begin to feel… neutral, doable, even ordinary.

That’s often where change begins.

Rebecca