What is an Upper Limit Problem? And how it is holding you back in Life

The UPPER LIMIT PROBLEM is the feeling that you will never be successful or never achieve what you want is often due to a lack of self-confidence or self-belief.

A lack of self-confidence can cause many problems for individuals, and for some people, one of these is an upper limit problem. Understanding upper limit problems and deciding whether or not you have one can take some time.

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What is the 'upper limit'?

Our personal upper limits are the limits that we have, sometimes subconsciously, set for ourselves. Maybe you can imagine yourself becoming a millionaire, but you can’t imagine more than that and feel like you probably wouldn’t try to earn more money once you become a millionaire. This is an example of setting a limit for yourself – you have a boundary within which you feel you should, or will, remain. Most of the time, this isn’t necessarily a concrete example of a limit e.g. money but is rather a limit on the amount of happiness you feel or the level of success you have at work.

What is the 'upper limit problem'?

If you don’t feel like you want to raise your limits, or you feel constrained by upper limits (whether created intentionally by yourself or not), you could have an upper limit problem. An upper limit problem can interfere with your life and prevent you from experiencing happiness. Rather than embracing change, new experiences and new life challenges, you will feel compelled to avoid them, shy away and hope they go away.



Having an upper limit problem can affect your health, both physically and mentally. Avoiding new challenges and experiences could mean that when you are forced to confront something, you physically cannot handle it and become ill as a result. Adrenal fatigue and physical burnout can also affect you if you become too stressed and consumed with the idea of doing something that you feel you can’t.

You may also find yourself feeling a huge amount of guilt when you say no or make an excuse not to engage with someone or something which you feel you are not capable of. For example, if you are invited to present at a business meeting but decline because you feel you’ll do a bad job, you could find yourself feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt that only adds to your feelings of self-doubt and limitations.

Solving your upper limit problem

Like many problems, an upper limit problem isn’t something which will go away overnight. You can start by increasing your comfort zone – doing things which make you a little bit uncomfortable but on a regular basis. This will ensure that you prepare as effectively as you can for the big moments when you have the opportunity to reach higher.

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