How Your Beliefs Shape What You See (And Hold You Back) | Nir Eyal
Nir Eyal joins the podcast to explore one of the most foundational forces shaping our lives: belief. What if the way you see reality isn’t reality itself, but a simulation filtered through prior assumptions, expectations, and unconscious scripts?
In this conversation, we unpack the difference between fact, faith, and belief—and why most of our suffering stems from confusing the three. Nir shares powerful research on predictive processing, placebo and nocebo effects, learned helplessness, and how our expectations literally alter what we see, feel, and experience in our bodies.
From secular prayer and gratitude practices to Byron Katie’s turnaround method, this episode is a deep dive into how to move from limiting beliefs to liberating ones. If beliefs are tools, then the real question becomes: are the ones you’re using serving you?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Beliefs Are Tools
Beliefs are not objective truths, nor are they blind faith—they are flexible tools that shape how we interpret experience. When we treat beliefs as tools rather than identities, we gain the power to choose perspectives that reduce suffering and increase agency.
Expectation Creates Experience
Through predictive processing, placebo and nocebo effects, and anticipation, the brain actively constructs reality. What we expect to happen doesn’t just color our perception—it changes what we feel in our body and how we respond to life.
Liberating Beliefs Increase Agency
Limiting beliefs reinforce passivity and helplessness, while liberating beliefs unlock persistence and adaptability. By intentionally trying on new lenses, we expand what we believe is possible for ourselves.
JOURNAL PROMPTS
PROMPT 01
What belief in my life currently feels like a fact—but might actually be a tool I’ve never questioned?
PROMPT 02
Where am I reinforcing a limitation through labels (personality type, diagnosis, “I’m just not that kind of person”)?
PROMPT 03
What is one liberating belief I could experiment with for the next 7 days?