5 Steps to Break Limiting Beliefs Fast | Rebuild Confidence After 40 with Angela Fercho
The 5 Steps to Break Limiting Beliefs (Especially When They’ve Been Running the Show for Way Too Long)
By Angela Fercho, Life Coach for Women 40+
There’s something quietly cruel about limiting beliefs.
They don’t storm into the room like a toddler with a permanent marker and a freshly painted wall.
No.
They’re sneaky. They slip in wearing yoga pants, carrying a latte, whispering things like,
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
Or the classic hit single:
“Maybe you should wait until you’re more… prepared.”
And if you’re a woman 40+ facing seismic life changes—divorce, empty nest, identity shifts, endings that didn’t ask your permission—those beliefs get louder. More persistent. A little bold, even.
The good news?
Limiting beliefs can be dismantled. And faster than you think.
In fact, once you know how they work, breaking them is less like wrestling a bear and more like turning on a light switch.
Here are the five steps to break the beliefs that have kept you stuck, small, or second-guessing yourself.
Step 1: Catch the Culprit in the Act
Limiting beliefs love the dark—they thrive in autopilot thoughts, those quiet mental scripts you’ve rehearsed for decades.
Thoughts like:
“I’m too old to start over.”
“I always mess things up.”
“I’m not confident enough.”
“I don’t have the energy, the time, the willpower…” (This list has no shame. It will go on forever if you let it.)
But here’s a secret:
You can’t heal what you can’t see.
Spend one full day noticing your automatic thoughts. Don’t judge.
Just observe.
Imagine you’re a scientist studying a surprisingly dramatic species.
Because awareness is step one. And it’s powerful enough all on its own to loosen the belief’s grip.
Step 2: Ask the Bold, Slightly Annoying Question: “Is This Actually True?”
Here’s where things get spicy.
Most limiting beliefs crumble the moment you challenge them—like they were built out of stale graham crackers and childhood misunderstandings.
Ask yourself:
“What evidence do I have that this is true?”
“What evidence suggests it isn’t?”
You’ll notice something wild:
Most of the “truths” you’ve been living by are actually assumptions, interpretations, memories filtered through fear, or things someone else told you in 1998 that you accidentally turned into a personality trait.
Find one belief today that cannot withstand your questioning.
Celebrate by a dramatic fist pump!
Step 3: Find the Root (AKA the Origin Story of Your Inner Villain)
Every limiting belief has an origin story—and spoiler alert, it did not come from your inherent worthiness or wisdom.
It usually came from:
• A moment you felt embarrassed
• A failure that left dents
• A parent, partner, teacher, or boss whose words stuck to you
• A cultural expectation that was never yours to carry
• A season where survival took priority over growth
Understanding the roots doesn’t mean digging up every painful memory.
It means recognizing the belief is old. Outdated. Irrelevant to the woman you are now.
Name its origin. Even vaguely.
When you see that a belief belongs to your past, it loses power over your future.
Step 4: Replace the Belief with a More Expansive Truth
This step is delicious.
Once you see the old belief clearly, you get to choose what comes next.
You get to rewrite the script.
Not with toxic positivity.
Not with Pinterest-worthy affirmations that feel like lies.
But with something grounded and real, like:
“I am learning to trust myself again.”
“I am capable, even when I’m scared.”
“I have survived every hard thing I thought would break me.”
“I deserve to take up space.”
Craft one replacement belief that feels true enough (not one that’s unbelievable) to begin practicing today.
Something your heart recognizes, even if your mind is still warming up to it.
Step 5: Act Before You Feel Ready (The Secret Accelerator)
This is the part most women skip because it feels uncomfortable.
But action is the magic.
Action is what convinces your brain you’re not the woman the old belief described.
Every small action creates a crack in the belief.
Then another.
And another.
Until one day, the whole structure collapses under the weight of your momentum.
Pick one action—tiny, doable, and immediate—that aligns with your new belief.
Send the email. Sign up for the class. Ask the question. Say no. Say yes.
Prove to yourself that you’re already shifting.
The Truth Behind All of This?
Breaking limiting beliefs isn’t about becoming someone new.
It’s about getting reacquainted with the confident woman you were before the world convinced you she wasn’t enough.
And these five steps?
They work—and fast—because they tap into your brain’s natural ability to rewire itself.
But here’s the thing:
Once you get a taste of how powerful this process is, you’ll want to go deeper.
Much deeper.
Because while these steps will start breaking the surface-level beliefs, the foundational ones—the ones shaping your identity, your confidence, your patterns, your self-trust—require guided excavation.
And that’s exactly what my upcoming course is built for.
A deeper dive.
More transformation.
More breakthroughs.
More relief.
More confidence than you remember having.
If these five steps felt like a breath of fresh air…
Just wait.
Your comeback is only beginning.