1
In my view, with phrases like “I believe that ...”, people can:
1. Describe an analysis of how likely something is – what, in practice, can be called intuition.
For example:
A person says: “I believe I’ll be able to create my own project.” The idea can be done, and he spends all his free time on work and quality recovery. This means the project is more likely to be released than not.
2. Consciously and / or unconsciously find external points of support for themselves in someone or something.
In the current structure of society, a child’s upbringing and education mostly happen through blind belief in the external: you either say what others want to hear from you, or you’re punished / wrong.
2.1. All of this leads to a situation where, as they grow up, many people are already so deeply convinced that someone outside them knows exactly what is better and how, that they trust an “authoritative” opinion more than themselves:
– scientists proved it;
– statistics showed it;
– a famous philosopher / psychologist, etc. said it;
– etc.
2.2. Because of this, “belief” can also make a person confuse intuition with self-sabotage.
For instance, instead of analyzing risks at the start, in some situations people may rely on chance. And if the situation doesn’t turn out in their favor, they’ll find someone “to blame” outside themselves, justifying themselves with “moral norms”:
For example:
A startup launch is in 3 weeks. The founder asks the employees to work all this time without days off and without extra pay. The employees answer: “no, thank you.” The founder’s reaction: “everyone let me down, the world is unfair to me.”
All of this makes the idea of “belief” a point of vulnerability. In different contexts, very different things can be hidden behind “I believe.”
To avoid false hopes from the start, I try to catch myself every time I say “I believe” out of habit, and replace it with “I perceive.”
This gives me the ability to clearly understand in the moment that this is not a lottery-like scenario of how things may be, but how I currently see the perspective.
It also allows me to quickly adapt my actions when new input appears, so I can keep the chance of achieving what I want instead of watching it fade while “believing until the very end.”
1. Describe an analysis of how likely something is – what, in practice, can be called intuition.
For example:
A person says: “I believe I’ll be able to create my own project.” The idea can be done, and he spends all his free time on work and quality recovery. This means the project is more likely to be released than not.
2. Consciously and / or unconsciously find external points of support for themselves in someone or something.
In the current structure of society, a child’s upbringing and education mostly happen through blind belief in the external: you either say what others want to hear from you, or you’re punished / wrong.
2.1. All of this leads to a situation where, as they grow up, many people are already so deeply convinced that someone outside them knows exactly what is better and how, that they trust an “authoritative” opinion more than themselves:
– scientists proved it;
– statistics showed it;
– a famous philosopher / psychologist, etc. said it;
– etc.
2.2. Because of this, “belief” can also make a person confuse intuition with self-sabotage.
For instance, instead of analyzing risks at the start, in some situations people may rely on chance. And if the situation doesn’t turn out in their favor, they’ll find someone “to blame” outside themselves, justifying themselves with “moral norms”:
For example:
A startup launch is in 3 weeks. The founder asks the employees to work all this time without days off and without extra pay. The employees answer: “no, thank you.” The founder’s reaction: “everyone let me down, the world is unfair to me.”
All of this makes the idea of “belief” a point of vulnerability. In different contexts, very different things can be hidden behind “I believe.”
To avoid false hopes from the start, I try to catch myself every time I say “I believe” out of habit, and replace it with “I perceive.”
This gives me the ability to clearly understand in the moment that this is not a lottery-like scenario of how things may be, but how I currently see the perspective.
It also allows me to quickly adapt my actions when new input appears, so I can keep the chance of achieving what I want instead of watching it fade while “believing until the very end.”