Internalised Beliefs

Uncover the assumptions you’ve been living by... the quiet “truths” absorbed early and left unchallenged.

Architecture of Belief Systems

Long before you formed conscious opinions, you absorbed dozens of “truths” about success, worth, safety and belonging. These beliefs... shaped by family, school, media and peers... became the unspoken rules you live by. Operating beneath awareness, they filter every new experience, shaping your goals, fears and sense of possibility.

How Belief Systems Run

Beliefs operate as silent subroutines. In a moment of doubt they launch a “must-not-fail” protocol. In social settings they trigger “people-pleaser” mode. Because they feel self-evident, you rarely question them... until they collide with reality and spark discomfort or resistance.

Diagnostic Lens: Evidence–Contradiction Check

Beliefs demand evidence. This check focuses on identifying experiences that contradict a core belief. By gathering real-world exceptions, you weaken the old rule and open space for a new one.

Hey! I'm Chris.

I teach smart people how to feel human again.

[The Dirt] Newsletter offers brain-rewiring, metaphor-slinging, self-authorship tools for mental misfits (like you?).

This is not "self help" in any traditional sense. This is the recovery of your agency. Literally.

It's like therapy, but with less crying and more “Oh… that explains everything!”

Subscribe for Weekly Insights into Self-Authorship

This list is small and personal.
Unsubscribe anytime, and your email vanishes like it was never here.
(Yes, really.)
Use your real email.
That’s the one I’m writing to.

A Story of Belief Revision

Claire always believed “creativity is a gift, not a skill.” At her first design job she froze whenever asked to brainstorm. She journalled each insecure thought... “I’m not born creative.” She traced it to a teacher’s off-hand comment in Year 4. Then she drafted a revised belief: “Creativity grows with practice.” Each morning she affirmed, “I cultivate creative work.” Within weeks she volunteered ideas confidently and discovered her creative capacity expanding.

A Mini-Workshop: Evidence–Contradiction Check

Use this when a reactive thought or feeling surfaces:

Identify one core belief (“I must never fail,” “I’m not persuasive”).
List three experiences that contradict it (“I learned from mistakes,” “I persuaded my team last week”).
Notice the emotions and thoughts that arise when you read these exceptions.
Craft a revised belief that integrates evidence (“I learn through mistakes,” “My voice makes an impact”).
State it aloud before your next challenge... “I learn through mistakes.”
Log your reflections: note shifts in confidence, choice and mood.

Each contradiction you gather chips away at an old belief.

Collaborative Reflection: Belief Debate

Pair up with a colleague or friend. Each choose one belief to challenge. Present its evidence and counter-evidence in a brief debate. Use supportive questions... “What other stories challenge this rule?”... and coach each other toward a revised conclusion.

Next Steps

Explore Conceptual Metaphor Systems and Identity Scripting to see how beliefs and metaphors intertwine.
Get The Dirt for weekly-ish rambles about how this mind stuff plays out in real life.