5 career-limiting beliefs (and how to reframe them)

Find Your Superpower newsletter 103

Read time: 7 minutes

Topics covered: Career transition, navigating change, mindset shift, Brand Builder Mastermind

Some beliefs don’t sound like beliefs at all. They sound like facts.

“I’ve already come this far.”
“I can’t just start over now.”
“It’s too late.”

They present themselves not as choices, but as truths.

And for many high-achieving professionals, these invisible scripts shape decades of career decisions without ever being examined.

I know, because I once followed them too.

When I left my academic job at a medical school after years of research, teaching and publishing, I wasn’t just changing careers. I was confronting the deeper story I had grown up with: that serious work lives in Ivy League and Oxbridge research labs and lecture halls, not on public stages and social media platforms.

That intellect is earned through credentials and certificates. 

But now that I’ve transitioned to the other side, I know better. Success sometimes requires us to flip the table, to borrow a poker analogy.

And that process starts with challenging the beliefs we’ve inherited or outgrown.

These beliefs are like software running in the background of our lives. They are often inherited from well-meaning parents, teachers and cultural messages we absorbed without question.

Grown-ups pass down their unfulfilled dreams and fears dressed as wisdom, to protect us. But what once protected us may now be limiting us.

Today, I want to help you identify and dismantle the five most common limiting beliefs that keep accomplished professionals trapped in careers that no longer fit.

5 career-limiting beliefs (and how to reframe them)

1. I’ve invested too much to change now

Reframe: Everything you’ve learned is transferable. Your past is research.

The sunk cost fallacy powerfully influences career decisions. After years of education and practical training, change can feel like rendering that investment worthless.

My own transition from science to branding initially triggered this belief. I had invested 15 years in scientific training, published research and built credibility in that world. Pivoting meant facing the question: was all that effort wasted?

Over time, I discovered that my scientific background actually differentiated my approach to branding and communication. The analytical thinking, evidence-based approach and ability to translate complex concepts into accessible language became core strengths in my new role as a branding coach.

2. I don’t have the right credentials

Reframe: In the AI era, experience and adaptability may be more valuable than specific credentials.

In the AI revolution, human skills such as empathy, communication and intuition will matter far more than formal credentials beyond entry-level positions.

Many fields are now changing so rapidly that our college certificate from 10-20 years ago is almost certainly obsolete by now. Today, a well-trained large language model can come up with a perfect technical solution, in seconds.

Note: This belief particularly affects women and marginalized groups, who often feel they need more qualifications than others to deserve the same opportunities.

3. What will people think?

Reframe: Most people are too focused on their own lives to think about yours. Those who truly care about you want you to be happy.

This bias often appears in career decisions with high visibility, such as when we want to move from a prestigious corporate C-suite title to a less recognized role like executive coaching or solopreneurship.

When we unpack this fear, we often discover it’s based on projections rather than evidence. The audience we imagine critiquing our choices is usually far smaller and less invested than we believe.

For those of us wired as people pleasers, and for those of us guilty of regularly seeking external validation, this bias can be even more pronounced.

4. I’m too old to start over

Reframe: Your timeline is your own. Some of history’s most meaningful work was done by people who started "late."

While it is commonly assumed that most successful entrepreneurs are young, many reports have indicated that more successful startups are often launched by founders in their 40s or 50s.

History provides countless examples: Julia Child published her first cookbook at 49. Vera Wang launched her own bridal line at 40. Ray Kroc was 52 when he bought McDonald’s and built it into a global enterprise.

5. I should be grateful for what I have

Reframe: Gratitude and ambition can coexist. You can appreciate what is while still pursuing your North Star.

It is true that gratitude offers genuine psychological benefits, but the belief that contentment requires abandoning our ambitions creates a false dichotomy in us. We can be grateful about what we have without stagnating.

This fear runs particularly deep for those raised as "good" children, the ones who learned early that their value was connected to meeting their parents’ expectations and choices for them.

The first step is the hardest step

When you start to change, you may fear letting others down.

Family. Mentors. Even past versions of yourself. 

Most of the time, the consequences are imagined. (And the freedom is real.)

In my career transition, I worried about disappointing ex-bosses and ex-mentors whom I feared would see my shift as abandoning "serious" work. These concerns weren’t about the practical aspects of change but about the social and emotional implications of leaving my community.

If you recognize yourself in these limiting beliefs, know that awareness is the first step toward change. The second step is to surround yourself with others who are also committed to your personal growth and authentic expression.

Ready to make 2025 your year of transformation?

If this newsletter resonated with you, you’re not alone. I work with accomplished professionals just like you every day in my Brand Builder Mastermind and I help them build brands aligned with their true purpose.

In our 12-month Mastermind, you’ll:

• Build a powerful personal brand that opens doors
• Learn to communicate your value with confidence
• Connect with a community of growth-minded professionals making similar transitions

Our 200+ strong professional community supports each other through the vulnerable (and often lonely) work of reinvention. 

[CLOSING SOON] We’re currently enrolling for our June 2025 cohort, which is 70% full! 

Thanks for reading. 

Your rocketship captain,
Juliana 🚀