Seven Common Limiting Beliefs Leaders Hold

How to identify and rewrite the limiting beliefs holding you back.

Achieving what you want in life doesn’t just hinge on what you believe about your future. According to Muriel Wilkins, it has just as much to do with what you believe about your past and present.

Wilkins is an executive coach, author, and host of the HBR podcast Coaching Real Leaders. In her new book, Leadership Unblocked: Breakthrough the Beliefs that Limit Your Potential, she explains how our personal and professional blocks often stem from our own limiting beliefs about ourselves. “A belief is a story that you tell yourself,” she says, “It is the operating principle that is driving your behavior and the decisions you make.” Before we can take actions that will lead us to where we want to go, we have to uncover these hidden beliefs. Otherwise, Wilkins says, “We'll come back right to where we started. It's not just about what we do, it's about what we think about what we do that makes all the difference."

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Wilkins and host Matt Abrahams explore the three-step process of uncover, unpack, and unblock — Wilkins’ method for identifying limiting beliefs, understanding how they might be shaping our behavior, and updating narratives to align with who we actually want to be.

To listen to the extended Deep Thinks version of this episode, please visit FasterSmarter.io/premium.

Episode Reference Links:

• Muriel Wilkins
• Muriel’s Book: Leadership Unblocked
• Ep.102 Create a Presence: How to Communicate in a Way Others Can Feel
• Ep.98 Give It to Me Straight: How to Give Honest, Constructive Feedback 
   

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• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (02:18) - The Seven Limiting Beliefs
• (04:44) - Three Steps to Becoming Unblocked
• (07:58) - Rethinking Values and Success
• (09:13) - Healthy vs. Toxic Productivity
• (11:57) - The Power of Mindset and Reframing
• (14:33) - Reverse Engineering Your Goals
• (17:42) - Managing Emotional Investment
• (21:22) - The Final Three Question
• (27:43) - Conclusion

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