Of course this was what people used to think, and it was a great barrier to exploration for many years. The beliefs people had directly affected their actions, and in this case limited their results. Notice then that beliefs do not necessarily reflect the real world. Doors don t always unlock by turning the key towards the door. Beliefs about the world being flat were soon changed once explorers started to travel around the world.
Beliefs do directly affect our actions though.
Sometimes then, we take action even when our beliefs are wrong, and this can limit us. This is particularly true about the beliefs we have about ourselves and our abilities. Just as we act automatically within the limits of the simple beliefs we develop like the way to lock or unlock a door, we do the same with the beliefs we develop about ourselves. If we develop limiting beliefs about what it is possible for us to achieve, then our response will be to limit the actions we take. As a result we also limit the results we get.