​🍁 Why You Can’t "Just Release" Limiting Beliefs - But THIS Actually Works

How EFT Tapping, Cognitive Reframing, and Neuroplasticity Create Real, Lasting Transformation

The Truth About “Just” Changing Your Mind

I’m gonna be honest, I saw an Instagram post the other day that made me roll my eyes. It was a mindset coach who said he could cure limiting beliefs in 2 seconds. If you’ve ever been told to “just decide to stop believing you’re an imposter,” or “just tell yourself that you’re confident,” and you didn’t magically change all of a sudden -  you’re not alone. If you can simply decide to let go of limiting beliefs in 2 seconds, congratulations, you have a serious superpower and are unstoppable!

OK, so what about the rest of us then? I’m kinda shocked at how some mindset coaches (who don’t apply modalities like EFT tapping, hypnosis, or NLP, for example) make it sound like releasing a lifetime of limiting beliefs and changing your thought patterns is as easy as flipping a switch. You simply identify a negative belief, replace it with a positive one, and—voilà—you’re free! What do they forget? Talking doesn’t always convince your nervous system.

So, unfortunately for most people, it’s not that quick or easy - but it IS always possible.

​“If you accept a limiting belief, then it will become a truth for you.” – Louise Hay

Beliefs can take a lifetime to create and rewiring them takes time and step-by-step action for most people. Why? Because when it comes to the way we see ourselves, what we think is possible, what we think we’re capable of, and importantly, what we think we deserve, our core beliefs are a bit more complex. Think of an onion. There’s a core belief, and then we go around with this perception of ourselves and the world, and we think have layers of confirmation bias drilling it in.

Limiting beliefs are not just ideas you think; they’re deeply programmed neural pathways reinforced by emotion, repetition, and experience. You can’t simply talk your brain out of fear, self-doubt, or shame. These beliefs live in both the mind and the body, and your nervous system must feel safe before true transformation can happen.

However, I have seen, based on my clients’ experience (and my own!), that you can change limiting beliefs and build habits in small, measurable, ‘proof-creating’ ways.

​”Confidence is a skill built through daily actions and habits, not something you are born with or wait to feel before taking action". - Mel Robbins

This is where EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Techniques), cognitive reframing, and neuroplasticity come together to create results that mindset work alone can’t achieve.

What Are Limiting Beliefs, Really?

A limiting belief is a subconscious assumption that shapes how you see yourself and the world. Here is a list of the Top 10 common core limiting beliefs according to one article by CEO of Wow Women’s Group Tracy Sofra:

I'm not good enough—: This belief suggests a lack of ability or inherent worth.

I can't change—: This belief keeps individuals stuck in a negative mindset and fearful of transformation.

I don't deserve success—: A feeling of unworthiness that prevents people from accepting good things in their lives.

I don't have enough (time, money, resources)—: This belief limits one's ability to pursue goals or invest in themselves.

It's too late for me—: The idea that opportunities are missed and it's impossible to start something new at a certain age.

People will judge me—: A fear of failure and rejection, often leading to people-pleasing or avoiding new situations.

I'm not smart enough/talented enough—: This belief hinders learning, growth, and skill development.

I always fail—: The conviction that effort leads to inevitable failure, discouraging any attempts to try.

I don't have enough experience—: A belief that one lacks the necessary background to be competent or successful.

I can't ask for help—: The idea that one must do everything alone, which can lead to burnout and isolation.

Do any of these sound familiar to you? Most people have at least a few of them. These beliefs are learned responses, often formed early in life through emotional experiences, family messages, or past failures. According to research from Harvard University’s Department of Psychology, up to 95% of our daily thoughts and decisions are driven by subconscious programming.

That means even when you consciously know your belief isn’t logical, it still feels true because your body and brain have practiced it for years.

Why “Just” Change Doesn’t Always Work

If changing your mindset were as simple as just deciding, none of us would ever procrastinate, self-sabotage, or overthink again. When you tell yourself, “I’m confident,” or “I’m not afraid of failure anymore,” but your body immediately reacts with anxiety, tightness, or dread, that’s your nervous system sending a signal: “This isn’t safe.”

The amygdala, the brain’s threat detector, can’t tell the difference between physical danger and emotional risk. So even positive change—like speaking up, taking a leap, or showing up online—can trigger a stress response.

“Self-sabotage is really just misguided self-love,” Brad Yates

That’s why willpower isn’t always enough. When the brain interprets uncertainty as danger, your body reacts automatically to keep you safe by avoiding action. In fact, a 2016 study in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found that long-term behavioral change requires both repetition and emotional regulation—two key components missing from the “just decide” approach.

The Science of Change: How Neuroplasticity Works

Your brain is capable of incredible transformation through neuroplasticity, the process of creating new neural pathways. That means that every time you repeat a new behavior, practice a different thought, or manage stress in a healthier way, you are physically rewiring your brain.

However, neuroplasticity requires consistency and safety. When you try to make changes from a state of fear or overwhelm, the body resists. Then, stress hormones like cortisol block learning and reinforce the old pattern instead.

So, to put it simply if you want to change your limiting beliefs, you need two things:

Cognitive awareness — seeing the belief for what it is so you can challenge it.

Physiological safety — calming the nervous system so your brain can feel safe to learn something new.

This is exactly where EFT Tapping helps bridge the gap between your mindset and being able to embody change.

What Is EFT Tapping and Why It Works

EFT Tapping combines different elements of cognitive reframing and somatic regulation by using light tapping on acupressure points while you articulate a thought, belief, or emotion (normally out loud but you can also do it silently with yourself, although I find voicing it helps!). It sends calming signals through the vagus nerve, helping the body shift out of “fight or flight” mode and quickly into a state of emotional regulation.

In fact, a 2020 meta-analysis published in The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease found that EFT Tapping significantly lowered cortisol levels by up to 43% after a single session.

When your body feels safe, your brain can reprocess experiences differently. This helps you detach emotional charge from past events, challenge cognitive distortions, and install new, empowering beliefs that actually stick. With those beliefs, you can take new action.

From Cognitive Reframing to Somatic Release

When it comes to Cognitive reframing (like the work of Byron Katie or CBT principles), it’s an excellent starting point—it helps you identify irrational thinking patterns and challenge false beliefs. But awareness alone doesn’t always create change because limiting beliefs are not just stored in the mind.

They are stored in the body’s memory system through emotion.

That’s why someone can “know” they’re good enough on a logical level, yet still feel fear when speaking up or being visible because they have wounds that make them fear rejection. The body hasn’t caught up with the new mindset yet even if they’re really trying to believe it.

When you do the cognitive reframing with EFT, you give your nervous system a physical experience of calm while introducing new thoughts so it finally doesn’t feel fake to say: “I’m good enough and I’m smart enough and I love myself”. This creates alignment between what your brain thinks and what your body feels.

Discomfort vs. Danger: Retraining the Nervous System

One of the most important mindset shifts you can make is learning that discomfort is not danger. Growth often feels uncomfortable because you’re doing something unfamiliar, not because it’s unsafe.

For high-achieving professionals and entrepreneurs, this confusion is common. The moment the heart races or the voice shakes, the brain interprets it as threat instead of expansion.

​”Growth is uncomfortable; you have to embrace the discomfort if you want to expand,” Jonathan Majors

In reality, excitement and anxiety feel almost identical in the body—fast heartbeat, shallow breathing, increased adrenaline. The only difference is the narrative your brain attaches.

EFT helps you retrain that narrative. By tapping while breathing through those sensations, you signal safety to the nervous system. Over time, the amygdala stops overreacting, and the brain learns: “I can feel this and still be okay.”

That’s the essence of emotional resilience.

Taking Small Steps, Creating Real Evidence for Change

The trick is to create new bits of evidence for yourself that help you move forward. Sustainable change doesn’t happen through grand declarations—it happens through consistent micro-shifts that create proof for your brain that you ‘can’ do it.

Examples:

- Tapping to ground yourself first. Then speaking up in a meeting even when your voice shakes and then celebrating with yourself for getting outside your comfort zone.

- Practice reframing a mistake as feedback instead of failure and tapping afterwards to get through any feelings of rejection.

Each time you survive discomfort, you build proof that it’s safe to stretch. That proof becomes data your brain uses to update its prediction model. A 2013 study from Stanford University’s Mind & Body Lab found that beliefs reinforced with emotion and repeated experience can change physiological responses in the body.

“We found that informing individuals of high (versus low) genetic risk on a gene related to reduced exercise capacity had a self-fulfilling effect on their actual cardiorespiratory fitness during exercise. In other words, people who believed that they were at greater genetic risk for poor fitness experienced actual declines in their capacity to exercise.”

Your brain trusts evidence, not affirmations.

This is how EFT helps you “train confidence” like a muscle—through repetition and reinforcement until your nervous system learns to predict safety instead of fear.

The Autumn Connection: Nature’s Lesson on Letting Go

There is a message in the seasons. Autumn is a season of release and renewal. The trees don’t cling to old leaves because they trust the process. They shed what’s no longer needed to make space for growth.

Personal change works the same way. You can’t expand into your next chapter while gripping outdated beliefs that no longer serve you. But unlike trees, humans resist the letting go process because it feels uncomfortable. I get it! So many changes in my life felt like I was

EFT helps you release emotional attachment to old identities and stories. It’s not about erasing your past—it’s about integrating it and freeing your energy for what’s next.

Autumn reminds us that letting go is not failure; it’s transformation in progress.

Why Mindset Work Alone Isn’t Enough

Mindset work helps you identify your thoughts, but somatic work like EFT helps you embody new ones. Together, they create the conditions for lasting neuroplastic change.

Without calming the nervous system, your brain can’t absorb new information. Without challenging cognitive distortions, you can’t update your inner dialogue.

The combination is what makes change sustainable.

When the mind and body finally agree on what’s possible, confidence stops being a performance—it becomes natural.

Why EFT Is the Ultimate Confidence Rebuilder

Confidence isn’t built by pretending you’re fearless. It’s built by learning that you can handle fear without shutting down.

​The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you."— William Jennings Bryan

EFT helps rewire the connection between emotional discomfort and action. Instead of needing everything to feel easy before you move forward, you develop emotional flexibility. You still feel the fear—but it no longer controls your choices.

This approach is especially powerful for professionals who have lost confidence after setbacks like job loss, burnout, or breakups. It’s not about forcing motivation; it’s about restoring safety so you can take consistent, aligned action again.

The Autumn Reset: A Season to Let Go and Rebuild

Are you ready to start shedding the weight of your old beliefs and transform into the person you’d love to be? Autumn is nature’s reminder that change doesn’t have to be rushed; it just has to be real. As the year winds down, it’s the perfect time to reflect on what you’ve been carrying that no longer serves you. Maybe it’s perfectionism. Maybe it’s the pressure to have it all figured out. Maybe it’s the quiet belief that you’re not enough. Whatever it is, isn’t it time to let it fall away?

Start Your Autumn Reset with EFT

If you’re ready to make real change this season—not just think about it—join my Autumn Reset EFT Program during October 2025.

🍁 5 Personalized EFT Empowerment Sessions (5 (60 min sessions on ZOOM)– €499 (VAT included)

1️⃣ Get clear on what’s keeping you stuck and what you’re ready to release
2️⃣ Let go of old emotional patterns with EFT
3️⃣ Regulate your nervous system so change feels safe
4️⃣ Rebuild real self-trust and confidence
5️⃣ Integrate everything into grounded, sustainable action

Because real change comes from feeling safe enough to let go.

So ask yourself:
🌿 Who would you be without the old stories?
🌿 If failure didn’t stop you?
🌿 If rejection didn’t define your worth?
🌿 If you actually trusted yourself enough to go for what you want?

🍁 Book your spot here: https://bit.ly/4g4cIrD

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About Andrea Hunt:I’m an EFT Tapping Empowerment Coach and I help ambitious professional women reach their goals faster by breaking free from fear, self-doubt, and impostor syndrome so they can build confidence like a muscle—one bold step at a time—and finally step outside their comfort zone to create the life they know they deserve.

Curious about EFT Tapping? Download my FREE EFT book and discover how tapping can enhance emotional resilience, improve mindset, and reduce perfectionism and negative self-talk.

➡️ Get Your Free Ebook Here to Learn the Healing Transformative Power of EFT Tapping  https://bit.ly/3U2eHnw

➡️ Book a call with me here! https://bit.ly/4g4cIrD

➡️ Learn more about me: www.dreahunt.com