When Good Intentions Stall: What Gets in the Way (Volume 2, Issue 3)

<Exploring the Internal Blocks that Shape Our Choices>

Have you noticed how easy it is to name what you want for your well-being, and how challenging it can be to sustain it?

We often begin with clear intentions:

I will leave work on time.

I will take better care of my body.

I will eat in ways that support my health.

These intentions matter. They reflect values, hopes, and a genuine desire for well-being. Yet many healthcare professionals find themselves returning to the same intentions again and again, wondering why follow-through feels so difficult.

What if the issue is not a lack of commitment, but a lack of awareness?

Rather than focusing immediately on what to change, we begin by noticing what may be shaping our choices. 

Understanding What Gets in the Way

When intentions do not translate into action, it is rarely because we do not care enough or are not trying hard enough. More often, something is getting in the way.

In coaching, we often think about these influences as external and internal blocks.

External blocks are usually easier to see. They include workload, staffing challenges, time pressure, competing responsibilities, documentation demands, regulatory pressure, and shifting organizational priorities. These are not minor inconveniences. They are structural realities in modern healthcare and they deserve clear acknowledgment.

External blocks influence energy, decision-making, and even identity. When left unnamed, they can lead to self-criticism for struggles that are, in part, systemic.

While we may not always control external realities, understanding how they interact with internal patterns increases discernment. When we can distinguish between what is systemic and what is personal, we reduce unnecessary self-blame and increase strategic choice.

Internal blocks tend to be quieter. They operate beneath awareness and influence how we interpret situations, make decisions, and follow through on our intentions, often without realizing it.

One helpful way to think about internal blocks is through a framework often referred to as GAIL. These blocks differ in how automatic they are and how much reflection they require to notice.

Rather than addressing them all at once, we often explore them gradually, beginning with the blocks that are easiest to recognize and moving toward those that operate more automatically. This mirrors clinical reasoning: we start with what is most observable before exploring deeper drivers.

These internal blocks include (GAIL):

• Limiting beliefs:  Beliefs about how the world works that shape what feels possible or realistic

• Interpretations: The meaning we assign to situations or events

• Assumptions:  Conclusions we draw without full information

• Gremlins:  Deeply personal, emotionally charged inner narratives about competence, worth, or belonging (often experienced as critical “voices” such as I am not good enough or Who am I kidding?)

These patterns are not flaws or failures. They are learned, often protective, and they usually function automatically unless we pause to notice them.

In this issue, we will begin with limiting beliefs, as they are often the most accessible place to start noticing what may be shaping our choices.

What Are Limiting Beliefs?

Limiting beliefs are beliefs we accept as true about ourselves, other people, the profession, or how the world works that quietly restrict what feels possible.

They are broad and generalized, not tied to one specific moment, and they often develop over time through training, culture, and repeated experience. Because they feel factual rather than optional, they tend to go unquestioned.

In healthcare, limiting beliefs often sound like:

• “Strong clinicians do not let emotions interfere with their work.”

• “This is just how healthcare works, change is slow and difficult”

These beliefs are not about a single interaction or event. They shape the rules we live by,  influencing boundaries, expectations, and how we prioritize ourselves in relation to our work.

Because limiting beliefs often operate in the background, they quietly shape how we respond to stress and challenge. They may lead us to push through discomfort or accept the status quo, not because we do not value well-being, but because these responses feel consistent with how healthcare is believed to work.  

Limiting beliefs quietly shape how we experience and respond to daily situations, often without our awareness.

How Limiting Beliefs Affect Well-Being

In the context of well-being, limiting beliefs often sound practical or realistic.

For example:

“This is just how healthcare works — change is slow and difficult.”

This belief reflects a commonly held view about the healthcare system, shaped by years of experience with bureaucracy, competing demands, and repeated initiatives that promised improvement but delivered little lasting change.

When this belief operates in the background, it can quietly influence what feels worth trying. New ideas may be dismissed before they are explored. Boundaries, workflow adjustments, or well-being practices may feel unrealistic or naïve, even when they are reasonable.

Over time, beliefs like this can narrow the range of perceived options, not because change is impossible, but because it no longer feels likely or worth the effort.

Noticing this belief is not about denying the real challenges of healthcare. It is about understanding how accepting a single story about how things work can shape motivation, engagement, and capacity over time.

These beliefs are often reinforced by professional culture and experience, making them feel less like beliefs and more like facts.

Exploring a Limiting Belief

Working with a limiting belief does not mean arguing with it or trying to prove it wrong. More often, it begins with curiosity and a willingness to look beneath the surface.

Using the belief “This is just how healthcare works.  Change is slow and difficult” as an example, exploration might include questions such as:

• Where did this belief come from?

Was it shaped by repeated experiences, past initiatives that did not last, organizational culture, or years of navigating complex systems?

• How does this belief influence what feels worth trying?

Does it affect whether new ideas are considered, boundaries are discussed, or well-being practices are viewed as realistic?

• What has this belief protected me from, and what might it be costing me?

Has it helped manage expectations or prevent disappointment, while also limiting openness, creativity, or hope?

From here, a simple question can open space for reflection:

If I did not assume this belief was always true, what options might I notice that I currently overlook?

There is no requirement to act on the answer. The goal is not immediate change, but awareness, noticing how a belief shapes perception, motivation, and engagement over time.

Once a belief becomes visible in this way, the question is no longer whether it is true or false, but how it is shaping a choice.  

Possible Next Steps

Once a limiting belief has been noticed and explored, the next step is not to convince yourself that it is wrong. In healthcare, many beliefs are grounded in real experience. The goal is not denial.  It is discernment.

First, Acknowledge What the Belief Has Offered

The belief “This is just how healthcare works. Change is slow and difficult” often develops for good reasons.

It may have helped you:

• manage expectations in complex systems

• avoid repeated disappointment or burnout

• stay focused on what felt controllable

Recognizing what the belief has provided can reduce frustration and self-criticism. A belief can be protective and limiting at the same time.

Then, Notice Where the Belief Narrows Possibility

From that place of understanding, the next step is to notice how the belief influences what feels worth attempting.

You might begin to ask:

• Where do I automatically assume change isn’t possible?

• What ideas or conversations do I dismiss before exploring them?

• How does this belief shape my willingness to advocate for myself or my team?

This is not about pushing for unrealistic change, but about noticing where familiar ways of thinking quietly close doors.

Experiment with a Small Reframe

Rather than replacing the belief, some people find it helpful to experiment with a slightly expanded version, such as:

• Change in healthcare is often slow,  but not impossible.

• Even within complex systems, some things are influenceable.

Holding an expanded belief can create subtle but meaningful shifts:

• more openness to small adjustments

• greater willingness to test one new approach

• clearer distinction between what truly cannot change and what has not been tried

Think of this as a small experiment rather than a commitment,  noticing what changes in your thinking, engagement, or energy when possibility is reintroduced.

Choose Support Thoughtfully

For some, this exploration happens internally over time. Others find it helpful to reflect with a trusted colleague, mentor, or coach,  someone who can help separate real constraints from inherited assumptions.

There is no single right next step. What matters is choosing one that feels realistic, supportive, and aligned with your current context.

Final Thoughts

Good intentions do not stall because we do not care enough. More often, they stall because unseen beliefs are shaping what feels realistic, appropriate, or allowed.

By bringing those beliefs into awareness,  and gently exploring how they serve us and where they may limit us, we create space for more intentional, sustainable choices.

Looking Ahead

In the next issue of the Well-Being Compass, we will explore interpretations, the moment-to-moment meanings we assign to situations, and how they quietly influence emotions, interactions, and decisions.

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Stay Connected

If this issue sparked reflection or curiosity, we would love to continue the conversation. Aspire Healthcare Professional Coaching supports healthcare professionals and educators through one-on-one coaching, group offerings, and evidence-based assessments designed to foster resilience, self-leadership, and well-being.

Email: info@aspirehealthcarecoaching.com

Learn more: https://www.aspirehealthcarecoaching.com/

Share this issue: Feel free to forward this newsletter to a colleague who may benefit from reflection as they step into the new year.

You don’t have to navigate growth alone—we’re here when you’re ready.

With Gratitude, 

The Aspire Healthcare Professional Coaching Team