The more defensive you are about a belief you have, the more likely that that belief is standing in the way of your freedom.
When a core belief is questioned, though, we tend to shut down rather than open up. It’s as if there’s a miniature dictator living inside our heads,8 controlling the flow of facts to our minds, much like Kim Jong-un controls the press in North Korea. The technical term for this in psychology is the totalitarian ego, and its job is to keep out threa
... See moreAdam Grant • Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
To the degree that we have our identity intertwined with a belief or view, we will feel the need to defend that belief as if we’re defending ourselves. The nice thing is that once we see a belief as a belief (a mere thought), we are relieved of some of this sense of needing to defend ourselves.
Angelo Dilullo • Awake: It's Your Turn
"This attitude of fear says, “I will not trust.” It is a deeply hostile attitude toward life. It also is connected to pride and selfwill in the belief that, “If I am not special (better than others), or if I do not get my way (fulfill my little self-will), then something terrible will happen.” Fear both supports and results from the attitudes
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