A limiting belief is a belief that limits the capabilities of someone.

Elephants in some countries are tied to a small stake when they are young. As they are young, they are unable to pull the stake out of the ground. As they grow older, they retain the belief that it's impossible to remove the stake. This allows large elephants to be tied to a small stake — in fact — they are tied to a limiting belief.

Limiting beliefs limit :

• The number of possible viewpoints, and thus the possible solutions to a problem
• The action capable of being taken by the person who has the limiting belief
• The possible outcomes of an action, thus limiting the perceived benefits of an action

See Also

• belief
• model
• NLP
• outcome