All Episodes

August 22, 2025 24 mins

Send us a text

Self-limiting beliefs and self-doubt can hold us back from reaching our full potential, but understanding how they form and learning strategies to overcome them can transform our lives and prospects for success.

• Self-doubt stems from being our own worst critic and knowing our shortcomings better than anyone else
• We often focus on past failures, trauma, or negative circumstances that make us feel inadequate
• Many wildly successful people faced extreme challenges: Sam Walton grew up poor during the Depression, Oprah Winfrey wore potato sack dresses and escaped abuse, JK Rowling battled depression
• Helen Keller, Albert Einstein, Tyler Perry, and Stephen King all overcame significant obstacles to achieve greatness
• The first step to overcoming self-doubt is seeing examples of others who succeeded despite similar challenges
• Focus on your good qualities by writing down all your positive attributes and reviewing them daily
• Surround yourself with people who value and believe in you, and distance yourself from those who don't
• Make it less about yourself and more about your cause or mission—Vincent van Gogh believed in his work even when no one else did
• "If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced"

Head over to terrielfawesome.com to pick up your free gifts and learn more about breaking through your comfort zones to reach success in every area of your life.


Support the show

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
If you've been stuck in fear, self-doubt, your past
failures and you're ready tobreak through your comfort zones
to finally reach the pinnacleof success in every area of your
life, then this podcast is foryou.
Here's your host, Terry LFossum.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
El Fasum.
The next bowl we're going totalk about is actually the one
that most people admit theysuffer from Self-limiting
beliefs, also known asself-doubts.
We're going to examine howthese happen, how they may have
happened to you and how otherwildly successful people had
them but succeeded anyway, andarm you with a new belief system
to allow you to do the same.
Let's get started Now.

(00:54):
This can be a difficult onebecause often it can come from
such deep-seated emotions.
Despite the front we put up forother people, we know who we
really are.
We know where we really camefrom.
We know the bad things thathave happened to us.
We know the bad things we'vedone.
We feel inadequate.

(01:15):
Why should people listen to me?
We tend to listen to thenegative things people say about
us more than the positive.
We play scenarios from theworst times that we've had, time
and time in our heads until itseems to fill our memories with
mostly those occasions.
We focus on our limitationsinstead of our strengths.

(01:36):
We often don't feel that we'resmart enough or educated enough
or rich enough or good-lookingenough or any other not enough
that can creep into our minds.
You may have heard of impostersyndrome.
Imposter syndrome is when wemay be successful at something,
but we still feel like animposter, like people are going
to find us out that we're not assmart or as talented or as good

(02:00):
as people see us, as we feellike we're a fraud.
We're afraid of being revealedat any moment.
Let me ask you can you relateto any of this?
If you answered no,congratulations.
Truly, you can skip this partof the recording, but if you
could relate to any of this,then listen on.
This is going to be very, verygood for you.

(02:23):
So let's start with.
Why do most of us suffer fromself-doubts?
Well, to begin with, we are ourown worst critic.
Would you agree with that?
Of course, we're our own worstcritic.
And why is that?
Well, first of all, we knowourselves better than anyone.
We can fool other people, butwe can't fool ourselves.

(02:44):
We know our own shortcomingsand limitations.
We see everyone else in theirperfect social media world and
know that our lives aren't asgreat as what we see there.
We know we've screwed up in thepast and we have a hard time
forgiving ourselves.
Maybe we feel we let othersdown.
Maybe we've made decisions thatlet ourselves down.

(03:05):
Maybe we're on a lowersocioeconomic scale and confuse
net worth with value, thoughthey are two very different
things.
Maybe something in our past hastriggered it.
Maybe we grew up poor or anabusive home, or no home at all.
Maybe bullying or racism, orism, or even something terrible

(03:26):
like molestation or rape.
Oftentimes, these things makeus believe that that's all we
are and that's all we'll ever be, and we certainly feel
inadequate After all inadequateAfter all.

(03:49):
Why should people listen to me?
Who am I?
I'm not rich enough.
I'm not successful enough.
I'm not one of the popularpeople.
I'm not one of the beautifulpeople.
I'm too young.
I'm just not that interesting.
People will just make fun of me.
If I'm too successful, I'lllose my friends and family.
There are a lot of people whoare better than me at and family
.
There are a lot of people whoare better than me at.
Whatever it is, I'm only theperson who came from these
circumstances or that.

(04:11):
This happened to.
That's all I am.
That's all I'll ever be.
I understand completely.
Remember, I grew up in thepoorest city in the entire
United States of America.
I was bullied terribly at times.
I was on the wrong end of anassault rifle in middle school

(04:34):
in my own back alley.
In high school, my father waskilled and before he died, one
of our neighbors came up to himand said I just want to make
sure you understand something.
Came up to him and said I justwant to make sure you understand
something.
None of your kids will evergrow up to be anything.
And there's other things too.
Now, my story isn't the worstone out there by far, but it's

(04:55):
the one I know the best becauseit's my story.
So, for all of those listeningwho can relate, how do we move
past this?
How do we stop a wallowing inthe past and start charging into
the future?
How do we keep our belief fromlimiting us by making us weaker

(05:18):
and instead make us stronger?
Well, the first step is seeinggood examples of others who've
done it, so we can internalizethat it can be done.
Here's some that have inspiredme.
During the Great Depression, apoor boy named Sam lived on a
poor farm in the poor state ofOklahoma.
He might have been poor, but hewas scrappy.
He wanted to contribute to thefamily finances, but what could

(05:41):
he do?
He was a young, poor boy livingon a poor farm.
What would he have that couldbe of value to anyone?
Well, he didn't have much, thatwas for sure.
But what did he have?
What could he do?
This poor boy looked around hisparents' poor farm and saw the
cow.
He may not know anything aboutbusiness, but he knew how to

(06:03):
milk a cow.
The problem was that most ofthe other families in farm
country well, they had a cow aswell.
Okay, that was the problem.
But what was the solution?
Well, the people in town didn'thave cows and they were buying
their milk from someone.
It might as well be him.
And if he had enough customers,he figured he could afford to
bring the milk into them.

(06:24):
So that's what he did did.
Well, this went pretty well.
But he started thinking as longas I'm going around to all of
these people delivering milk,what else could I bring him?
Well, he didn't have anythingelse to sell.
But someone else did.
Wait a minute.
When I deliver milk, I see thatmany of them get a newspaper.
Someone delivers it to him.
It might as well be me.

(06:45):
So he started sellingnewspapers and making more money
there as well.
And you know what?
If they read the newspaper, Ibet they'd like to read some
magazines too.
I bet I could sell magazinesubscriptions, and I wouldn't
even have to deliver them.
And that's how it started.
Sure, sam was poor and had nobusiness background, but he
refused to let that limit himFrom there.

(07:08):
He decided to learn more and hestarted putting together some
money to do so.
So he got a BA in economicsfrom the University of Missouri
and was quickly snatched up tomanage a variety store.
Was quickly snatched up tomanage a variety store.
After his time in the army, hemoved to Arkansas, took $5,000

(07:33):
he'd saved up, added a $20,000loan from his father-in-law and
bought his very own store, a BenFranklin store.
After success there, sam Waltonwent on to be the founder of
Sam's Club and Walmart, becominga billionaire.
No one, including yourself, cantell you that being poor or not
having a business background cankeep you from succeeding.

(07:53):
Oprah Winfrey had more reasonthan most people on the face of
the earth to have self-limitingbeliefs.
Listen to this.
Oprah was born in 1954 in alittle town in Mississippi.
Both being a woman and beingblack in the South, oprah could
have easily, easily limitedherself.
Let's add to that in her earlychildhood her wardrobe consisted

(08:16):
of potato sacks fashioned intodresses made by the grandmother
she lived with.
You know she was looked down ongrandmother she lived with.
You know she was looked down on.
She ran away from home at age13 to escape being raped by her
own family.
Her resulting newborn diedshortly after birth, and yet she

(08:36):
became one of the biggestinspirations in the world today.
Chris Gardner was also born in1954, a black man in Milwaukee,
wisconsin.
He grew up in a home where hisstepfather was physically,
emotionally and psychologicallyabusive to his mom in front of
he and his siblings.

(08:56):
He entered foster care thefirst time when his stepfather
turned his mother in for welfarefraud and the second time when
he's convicted of trying to killhis stepfather.
You probably watched the movieabout his success the Pursuit of
Happiness.
Jk Rowling has been diagnosedwith clinical depression and

(09:18):
contemplated suicide severaltimes.
With the Harry Potter whirlwindshe's now a billionaire, so
obviously depression or anxietyissues don't have to hold you
back either.
The list goes on and on.
Helen Keller was blind, deafand mute, yet she became an
American author, politicalactivist and lecturer who

(09:39):
continues to inspire us longafter she's passed away.
Albert Einstein didn't learn tospeak until he was three.
In school he was terrible atwriting and mathematics.
Tyler Perry had an abusivefather and was sexually abused
by four different men as alittle boy.
Eventually he wrote andlaunched a play which bombed

(09:59):
terribly.
He tried to launch it againSame result.
So he tried again and again,and again, and again and again,
living in his car.
After failing dismally sixtimes, you would think his own
self-limiting beliefs would holdhim back, but they didn't.
Stephen King is only successfulbecause his wife pulled his

(10:23):
book out of the trash can whereStephen himself had thrown it in
disgust after it had beenrejected 30 times.
He's now sold over 350 millionbooks.
Hang around people who believein you, sometimes even more than
you believe in yourself.
What I'm trying to tell you isif you're having self-doubts,

(10:44):
you're not alone.
In fact, you're in very goodcompany.
There have been others who havehad the same challenges you
have had, that came from thesame background as you, who had
the same things happen to themas you, who had the same
self-limiting beliefs that youhave, but they were able to
break free from those chainsthat try to hold them back and

(11:07):
succeed anyway.
So the first step in keeping ourbeliefs from limiting us and
instead make us stronger isseeing good examples of others
who have done it, so we caninternalize.
It can be done.
I think you'll agree We've donethat.
If they can do it, you can doit too.
So now the second step focus onyour good aspects.

(11:31):
It's easy for us all to focuson the bad, but what we need to
do is focus on our good points.
In fact, one of your actionitems after you're done
listening to this chapter is towrite down a list of all your
good attributes and post itwhere you can see it.
Listen, I want you to do thisAgain.
You're not listening to thisjust to go wow, that was really
nice, and not get anything outof it.

(11:52):
But, just like everything elsein life, if you're going to get
anything out of it, you have toput in the work.
See, those self-limitingbeliefs are always in the back
of your mind.
You need to counter them withyour new focus, your new truths.
Are you a kind person?
Are you thoughtful?
That's an amazing attribute.
Are you honest?

(12:13):
In my book, these are some ofthe most important attributes
that a person can have.
Are you a hard worker?
Do you have street smarts?
Do you make people feel goodabout themselves?
If you're having trouble comingup with things, ask yourself
what would my closest friendssay, if you're still having
trouble, ask them.
No, truly, do this.

(12:34):
You need to do this.
Hey, I'm doing a project whereI'm required to write down my
positive attributes, but I'mhaving trouble doing it.
What would you say?
My positive attributes are whatdo you like about me?
And, honestly, if they can'tcome up with any, fire them, as
your friends no, seriously do.
And that leads us to step threeHang around with people who

(13:01):
value you and don't hang aroundwith people who don't.
You may recognize this from therecording on attitude, because
it's so important.
If you're around people who putyou down, you begin or continue
to believe them.
And all too often, we findourselves around the very type
of people who caused thoseself-limiting beliefs in us to
begin with.
How many times have we heardstories of the abused wife or

(13:23):
husband who ends up with anotherabuser?
Or the addict who ends uphanging around other addicts
again?
Or the unsuccessful person whohangs around with more
unsuccessful people?
And why?
Because we believe that's whowe are and what we deserve.
Well, I'm here to tell you youare who you decide to be.

(13:47):
Let me say that again you arewho you decide to be.
If you've been untrustworthy inthe past, then dang it, stop
lying, change who you are andthe change in beliefs will
follow.
If you've allowed yourself tobe bullied, then stop allowing
that behavior.
Stand up for yourself and leaveanyone behind who won't stop

(14:10):
Again.
You will become like your sixclosest friends and your beliefs
will follow it.
Surround yourself with peoplewho believe in you and you will
begin to believe in yourself.
Hang out with dynamic peopleand you will become more dynamic
, more active, more successful,etc.
Et cetera.
And slowly those old beliefswill be replaced by new ones.

(14:34):
Things like I used to be lazy,but I'm not anymore.
Maybe I was poor, but that'snot what I'm going to be anymore
.
Maybe I did used to let othersdown, but that's not who I am
anymore, because I choose to bethe person I'm going to become.
Maybe I've failed and failed inthe past, but I'm better armed

(14:54):
now.
I realize that those failuresare the stepping stones on the
path to success and ready toforge forward, to finally make
it all come true.
Sound too good to be true?
It's not Many.
Many, many people came fromchallenging circumstances and
had much more holding them backthan you have, and they made it

(15:18):
happen anyway.
You can too.
And now the fourth step, andperhaps the most powerful of all
.
Did you know that Vincent vanGogh was a complete and total
failure as a painter?
He sold less than a handful ofpaintings in his entire lifetime

(15:38):
.
Can you believe that Vincentvan Gogh sold less than a
handful of paintings in hisentire lifetime?
Can you imagine, man, he musthave felt like a complete
failure.
But here's the interestingthing.
This was fascinating to me.
He may not have believed inhimself, but he believed in his
work, and even though no oneelse in the entire world

(16:03):
believed in it, he kept paintingand kept painting, because it's
not what other people think,it's about what you think.
It's not about what otherpeople think, it's about what
you think.
It's not about what otherpeople tell you, it's about what
you tell yourself.
Now, every single one of VanGogh's paintings that were
looked down on as worthless arepriceless, and so are you, and

(16:29):
so are your ideas If you act onthem.
He may have said it best of allwhen he said if you hear a voice
within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint, and
that voice will be silenced.
Listen, if you hear a voice inyour head that says sing, then

(16:52):
sing.
If it says to dance, then dance.
If it says to start a business,then start a business.
If it says to sell a product orservice you believe in, share
it.
If it says to write a book,then by all means write a book,
because when you do it, when youactually do it, the voice that
says you can't will be silenced.

(17:13):
Damn the torpedoes, full speedahead.
Listen, and this is importantto hear Everyone suffers from
self-doubts at one time oranother.
Everyone, including me.
I've always said I'll becompletely honest with you.
So here I go.

(17:33):
As I'm recording this, I'mhaving huge self-doubts.
Why would anyone listen to me?
I know me.
I grew up with me.
I know where I came from.
I know that I was neversupposed to grow up to be
anything.
So you have to ask yourself ifI'm having that much self-doubt,
then why am I doing this?
Why am I pressing on?

(17:54):
Get ready, this is going to behuge.
I mean this.
This is going to be hugebecause I believe in the message
.
It's not about me, it's notabout my background or anything
about me.
It's about the message.
Believe it or not.
It's not even about whetherthis sells or not.
It's about the message.

(18:15):
You see, I believe with all ofmy heart that the message
contained in these recordings isextremely important.
I believe it can help people.
I believe there are people outthere that need to hear what I'm
saying to help them blow thebolts that have been holding
them back.
I strongly believe that there'smillions of people out there

(18:35):
that could have a better, morefulfilled life if they heard and
acted on my message.
Will they listen to it?
There's only so much I can doto make that happen, but I have
to try because I believe in themessage.
So what's the fourth and finalstep that gets me past my own
self-doubt, my complete beliefin my cause, and what will help

(19:01):
you get over your own self-doubt, your belief in your cause?
If you're focused on your cause, it's no longer who would
listen to me, but rather peopleneed to hear about this.
It's not well, they may notlike the way I sing, but rather
I want to touch people with mysong.
It's not I don't have the bestpast.
It's about I do have the bestfuture.

(19:23):
I may not be the brightest bulbin the chandelier, but this
idea it's a good one.
It's that bulb that's growingbrightly.
It goes from I don't knowanything about business to I
have something that can helppeople.
It's not about you, it's aboutyour cause.
You know what.
Not to be mean, but get overyourself.
Make it less about you and moreabout what you want to

(19:47):
accomplish.
Maybe you don't feel you'regood enough, but what you want
to accomplish is.
I talked in an earlier recordingabout Abraham Lincoln.
He entered the war as a captainand was demoted to a mere
private.
He failed at business and wentbankrupt More than once.
He failed at politics severaltimes.

(20:09):
He may have had self-doubtsabout himself, but he had a
cause he believed greatly in,and his belief in that cause
outweighed his lack of belief inhimself.
So he pushed on and, thank God,he did.
He literally changed the world.
Why?
Because he believed in hiscause.

(20:30):
So let's bring this home for youwhat is it that you want to
accomplish?
Is it worth doing Truly?
What is it you want toaccomplish?
Is it worth doing?
What is it?
Think about it for a second.
Is it worth working forWhatever it is?
Do you believe in it?
Do you believe in your cause?

(20:52):
If you have a business, is thata cause?
Well, it is, if you think aboutit correctly.
What difference will doublingthat business make in people's
lives in your customers' lives,in your employees' lives, your
own family's lives?
If you double your sales, whatdifference will it make in
someone's world If you have acause you're working toward?

(21:15):
Do you believe in that causestrongly enough to get out of
your own way, to focus on thecause and change some people's
lives?
If you want to have a successfulrelationship, do better in a
career or whatever it is, is itimportant enough to leave your
baggage in the past where itbelongs, so it doesn't weigh you
down any longer?

(21:36):
Is it important enough to go?
You know what?
It's not about me.
It's not about those thingsthat happened in my past and the
way they made me feel.
It's about a future where thisDavid beats the Goliaths of the
world, where it may seem like Ihave a lot that could hold me
back, but I have a lot morepushing me forward.
There are people who had a lotmore going against them than I

(21:58):
have and they made it happenanyway.
I'm going to stop focusing onmy past weaknesses and focus on
my strengths.
If people try to pull me down,I will leave them behind in my
dust and be around people whobelieve in me and believe in my
mission, and I'll focus on thatmission because, whether or not

(22:18):
I believe in myself, I believein my mission, I believe in my
cause and because of that beliefI will find the strength to
make it happen.
So, in conclusion, I understandcompletely that you have
self-limiting beliefs that haveheld you back in the past.
I have too, and a lot of otherpeople in the world have too

(22:40):
People who are able to get pastthem and make a difference in
the world.
You're not alone, and thehistory books are full of role
models who have proven to usthat can be done.
Next, you have an amazingamount of goodness about you.
Write those positive attributesdown and read them at least

(23:00):
once a day to help replace thoseold beliefs with the new ones.
And if there's anyone oranything in your life right now
that's keeping those old,negative beliefs going, you have
to get rid of them and surroundyourself with people who
appreciate you, who believe inyou and who support you.
And finally, focus on the cause.

(23:23):
Focus on why what you want toaccomplish is important and can
help people, and damn thetorpedoes full speed ahead.
For God's sake, sing.
It's time to blow that boltforever.

Speaker 1 (23:42):
So that's it for today's episode of the Comeback
Chronicles.
Head on over to Apple Podcastsor wherever you listen, and
subscribe to the show.
If you're ready to get overyour fears, self-doubts and past
failures and break through yourcomfort zone to reach the
pinnacle of success in everyarea of your life, head over to
terrielfawesomecom to pick upyour free gifts and so much more

(24:05):
.
We'll see you next week on theComeback Chronicles Podcast.
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
Law & Order: Criminal Justice System - Season 1 & Season 2

Law & Order: Criminal Justice System - Season 1 & Season 2

Season Two Out Now! Law & Order: Criminal Justice System tells the real stories behind the landmark cases that have shaped how the most dangerous and influential criminals in America are prosecuted. In its second season, the series tackles the threat of terrorism in the United States. From the rise of extremist political groups in the 60s to domestic lone wolves in the modern day, we explore how organizations like the FBI and Joint Terrorism Take Force have evolved to fight back against a multitude of terrorist threats.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.