Development makes old limitations poor witnesses.

An old limitation reports on conditions that no longer apply, and yet it usually gets treated as reliable testimony about who you are. The trouble is that the memory of failing feels vivid and current, so it carries more weight than a piece of information from years ago should. What it actually knows about your present abilities is very little.

When a past failure comes up as evidence against trying, ask how long ago it was and what has changed since. Hearing it as an old report rather than a present fact makes it much easier to set aside.