Season 1. Episode 17. The Beliefs That Keep Us Stuck (and the Truth That Sets Us Free)

You’re smart. Successful. Driven.
 But beneath the polished surface, you might be running on empty — quietly wondering: Is this really it?

In this episode, Claire dives deep into the hidden world of limiting beliefs—the quiet narratives that shape our decisions, drive our burnout, and keep us stuck in versions of success we’ve outgrown.

She shares a powerful client story of a woman who had “made it,” yet felt lost and disconnected from herself. Through honest reflection and transformational coaching, she began to rewrite the story she’d been living—and you can, too.

If you’re craving clarity, purpose, and a fresh sense of alignment, this episode will speak directly to your heart.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• How limiting beliefs show up in high-achievers
  
  
• The surprising thoughts that might be running your life
  
  
• Why “having it all” doesn’t always feel like enough
  
  
• What it looks like to pause, get honest, and realign
  
  
• The power of rewriting your story before burnout forces it

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or leave a review—it helps more women find their yes… and.

To receive a weekly copy of The Yes...And Summer Edit click here: https://clairedarr.mykajabi.com/tya-summer-edit-email-opt-in

Welcome to The Yes… And Podcast, where we explore what happens when you say yes to life, embrace your purpose, and step into your fullest potential.

Hosted by Claire Darr—former corporate lawyer turned executive coach, wife, mom, and passionate believer in intentional living—this podcast is your guide to creating a life you can’t wait to wake up for.

Each week, we’ll dive into inspiring stories and practical lessons, blending soulful conversations with actionable strategies to help you overcome self-imposed limits, find balance, and build a legacy of joy and fulfillment. From courageous entrepreneurs to everyday heroes, our guests share how they’ve said yes… and to faith, family, career, and the adventures of life.

Whether you’re a busy professional, a working mom, or someone feeling stuck or overwhelmed,The Yes… And Podcast is here to empower you with the tools, mindset, and inspiration to dream big and live boldly.

Life is too short to play small. It’s time to say yes to more—and discover the yes..and life you’ve been longing for.

Subscribe now and join the movement toward a life of peace, purpose, and boundless possibilities.

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Interested in working with me, all the links here: https://linktr.ee/clairedarr

Transcript

Hi, welcome back to the Yes And podcast. It's summer over here in full swing in my house. And ⁓ it's kind of fun. It's been a mixture of ⁓ downtime, reset time, relax, and we're about to get busy, about to get busy. So I'm jumping in here to record something that has been ⁓ going around and around in my mind for a while.

and I thought I'll sneak away for 15-20 minutes before more busyness happens later today. I'm hoping I don't get interrupted so bear with me. So today I want to talk about something that shows up in every high achiever I've ever coached or worked with. It shows up in me all the time and it's subtle and it's sneaky and it is
ridiculously powerful and it's limiting beliefs. This is not a topic for the faint of heart but it's something we all navigate and something we all face daily, daily, daily, daily. I was literally just having this conversation with a client this morning daily. So

I know the term limiting beliefs is one of those phrases that gets thrown all around a lot in personal development. It really does. But I want to go a bit deeper than kind of this surface level limiting belief concept. I want you to start to see how limiting beliefs might be quietly shaping your life. Even if you're outwardly successful, even if you've already checked every box.

And you have the title and the money and the house and the car and the this and that, those limiting beliefs can be shaping your life behind the scenes. Because here's what I know, so many brilliant, capable people are living by rules that they never consciously chose.

That's it for a bit. They never consciously chose.

Rules like if I slow down, I'll lose everything I've worked for. Or I should be grateful, so why do I feel this restless? If I stop performing, who am I? Who am I?

And the kicker about all of these, these are all limiting beliefs by the way, ⁓ is we don't even call them limiting beliefs, you know what we call them? Reality. We use that word reality. It's just my reality. I can't slow down right now. It's just my reality. I have to keep performing. It's just my reality. It's this hard for everyone where I am. It's just my reality. And ⁓

When I say we never consciously chose a lot of these, we haven't. They've been programmed into us. They've been programmed by past experiences, memories, family members, work experiences, life. Some of it's just like in our DNA even, you know, kind of where you grew up geographically.

It's crazy sometimes how these influences can subconsciously program us. There is good news though. We can deprogram, we can recode, we can rewire, whatever phrase you want to use to have a set of beliefs that actually serve us.

So I want to talk about someone I recently worked with. She's a senior leader at a global company. She leads teams. She flies between cities. She juggles it all. And so from the outside, she has it made. And when she came to me, she said something I'll never forget. She said, I've built a life I'm not sure I want anymore.

but I don't know how to step off this path without burning it all down. ⁓ what a hard feeling that is, right? Does this sound familiar to you? If we dig into this, and we did dig in, we created space for her to name the beliefs that were running the show for her. Here's what we came up

If I let go, I'll fall apart, or it will all fall apart. That kept coming up. This is just how life is at this level. I worked for this, I asked for this, I got this. Who am I to question it now? That kind of thing. ⁓ My value is in how much I do, how much I produce, what I can continue to do. Well, that's a doozy, right? Tying our value to what we do.

and how other people measure us. Do you do that? I still do it. I work on it every day, but it's something that's ingrained in me too.

And so it wasn't her role or her schedule ⁓ or the travel or whatever the title that was trapping her. It was these beliefs. And once she started to see them for what they were, just a story, just a narrative, just a belief that she could change, then that's when the shift began.

So let me ask you, what beliefs are you living by that might be quietly keeping you stuck? What story or narrative are you telling yourself about success or who you are or what's possible for you in your life?

Here's one that often comes up in my coaching sessions. And it's that I don't have time to deal with this right now. Or just simply I don't have time.

Let me prod you on that a little bit. It's a it's a love prod. What if the real cost of you not addressing it cost you more time? What is the cost of another six months or six years of pushing through something that's not working for you? It doesn't fit with you anymore.

And that's the work here that is so valuable. That's what you can do for yourself today. And I work with people on this all the time. It's work I do for myself every day. It's work to uncover the hidden drivers and to ask yourself, what do I actually want now?

Not what did I want 10 years ago. Not what everyone else says I should want. Not what reality tells me. Reality, remember that's a smokescreen. But what feels aligned now and what feels meaningful and what feels true for me.

And so here's your yes and for today. Yes, you've built something impressive and you're allowed to outgrow it. Yes, you can honor your ambition and your drive and you could also honor your soul and your desires. Yes, you're capable of more.

and maybe more now means something entirely different than it used to.

And I want you to know this. You are not too much. You're not too late. You're not too old. You're not too stuck. You don't make too much money. You don't have too much responsibility on you to change this. And you don't have to figure it out alone.

There is always someone who can help you. There is always someone you can reach out to, whether it's me, another coach that you identify with, a mentor, a friend.

This work is the work that will change your life. Sometimes you just have to stop and ask yourself, what is it I want? Who do I want to be? As always, thank you for being here. Thank you for saying yes to your growth and for believing there's an and beyond the life you've settled for. I'll see you next time.