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From Stuck to Unstoppable
How Self-Efficacy Can Overcome Limiting Beliefs and Unlock Growth
Glen Patterson
May 27, 2025
Have you ever felt like you’re capable of more — but something invisible is holding you back?
Maybe you’ve told yourself…
I’m not leadership material.
I’ll never be good at public speaking.
It’s too late to change careers.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. These inner doubts are known as limiting beliefs, and they quietly shape the decisions we make, the risks we avoid, and the opportunities we miss.
But here’s the good news: there’s a powerful antidote to limiting beliefs, and it’s called self-efficacy.
Let’s unpack how building self-efficacy can help you rewrite your internal script and unlock career, personal, and professional growth.
What Is Self-Efficacy, Really?
Psychologist Albert Bandura defined self-efficacy as your belief in your ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish tasks.
It’s not just confidence — it’s a focused, experience-based belief that “I can figure this out, and I can grow through it.”
Self-efficacy influences:
The goals you set
The effort you put in
How you handle setbacks
Whether you persist or give up
How Limiting Beliefs Hold You Back
Limiting beliefs are often rooted in fear or past failures. They sound like:
“I’ve failed before, so I’ll probably fail again.”
“Others are more talented than me.”
“I need to be perfect before I try.”
These beliefs shrink your comfort zone, erode your confidence, and create mental roadblocks — especially in your career.
Replacing Limiting Beliefs with Self-Efficacy
Here’s the shift: Instead of trying to eliminate limiting beliefs with toxic positivity, replace them with evidence-backed confidence in your ability to adapt, learn, and grow.
Here’s how:
1. Start with Micro-Wins
Small wins fuel self-efficacy.
Deliver a great presentation, solve a tough problem, help a teammate — then reflect on it.
Track your growth. Build your “proof file” — a journal, folder, or app where you collect wins.
Why it works: Repetition of success builds internal trust.
2. Reframe Your Self-Talk
Instead of “I’m bad at this,” try:
I’m still learning this, and I’m improving.
Instead of “I can’t lead,” try:
I can develop leadership skills with support and experience.
Language matters. Swap fear with possibility.
How to Reframe Failure as Growth
🔹 Instead of: “I got rejected for that job.”
✔ Say: “I got interview experience that will make me better for the next one.”
🔹 Instead of: “I messed up on a project.”
✔ Say: “I learned a valuable lesson that will help me avoid mistakes in the future.”
🔹 Instead of: “I’m not good at this skill.”
✔ Say: “I’m still learning, and every failure is making me better.”
3. Seek Mastery, Not Perfection
People with high self-efficacy don’t aim to be perfect — they aim to grow.
They know mistakes are part of the process.
So instead of seeing a misstep as failure, they ask:
What can I learn from this?
That mindset unlocks creativity, confidence, and long-term growth.
4. Surround Yourself with Belief Builders
Coaches, mentors, managers, or peers who believe in your potential can help you see beyond your self-doubt.
Sometimes, someone else’s belief in you lights the way until you can believe in yourself.
5. Take Aligned Action
Don’t wait until you “feel ready.”
Take the next small step toward your goal.
Self-efficacy doesn’t just grow from thinking — it grows from doing.
Action creates evidence. Evidence builds belief. Belief fuels action. That’s the cycle.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need to “fix” yourself — you need to believe in your capacity to grow.
Limiting beliefs may whisper “you can’t,” but self-efficacy shouts, “You can — and you will.”
Whether you’re looking to level up your career, start something new, or break through a plateau, remember this:
Confidence is not a trait. It’s a skill.
And like any skill, it can be built — step by step.
Choose self-efficacy.
Choose growth.
Choose to bet on yourself.
So, what’s your next bold move?
Stay Strong and stay in the Game.
Wishing you continued success!
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my article. If you found this helpful, I’d be grateful to have you join my newsletter and share.
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