7 Beliefs That Stop Us From Growing

There is one famous saying that you have surely heard many times: “everything is just your imagination”. Even if this were true, it seems that some of us do not see the great truth that lies behind this saying: thoughts dominate our lives, for better or for worse. Some beliefs can actually prevent us from growing as human beings.

We will give an example that clearly shows this. Let’s imagine a person who blindly believes in amulets. One day this person loses his amulet and he starts to feel like everything is going wrong. Can a bracelet or necklace really define someone’s life so much? If you think about it rationally, you will surely say no. But a person who wears this jewelry and believes in it will not doubt this moment.

From the outside, it’s really easy to see how such beliefs prevent a person from growing up. But this is not the case for a person with such beliefs. There are a lot of people who may not believe in just any amulets, but they do believe in other ideas that have similar effects. Here are seven of them.

1. I am missing something

This belief prevents a person from growing because it leaves the core unnoticed. This is typical of people who tell themselves that they are not beautiful, smart or rich enough. And they believe this missing thing is what prevents them from being happy. 

But this is a distorted belief. It just gets the attention shifted away from the real problem: self-acceptance. External things cannot guarantee happiness to anyone. And every person has certain positive qualities, and everyone lacks certain other qualities.

2. The idea that it is better not to know

Experiencing strong emotions leaves traces, and for some people, those traces are really deep. The only thing they want is that the suffering and pain cease. This desire is even so strong that sometimes  they end up making a drastic decision and they “stop feeling.”

This is, of course, impossible. In reality, they just block their own feelings so that they just seem to feel nothing. However, this deprives them of many amazing experiences and prevents them from learning how to deal with the suffering that will appear in their lives sooner or later.

3. The assumption that being better than everyone else brings happiness

In this case, other people are objects to which the person compares himself. With these people, a person measures his ego. If he beats them, he will feel happier. If he doesn’t win, he feels frustrated and irritated. This prevents a person from growing as it makes him see human relationships with others as some kind of competition. No one is better or worse than another.

4. My life is harder than others

This is also known as “sacrifice.” This is a distorted belief that makes a person think that he is always in a worse situation than others. He thinks that only he suffers so much,  or that only he has so many problems.

This is a self-centered belief and it tries to justify a person’s suffering or frustration. The fact is that everyone experiences happiness and pain in their lives. Measuring how powerful this is for each is completely impossible.

5. The idea that receiving something or something brings happiness

Happiness is above all an attitude and an inner feeling. It does not depend on any goods or events. It means creating a good balance in life. It also means developing humility, optimism and hope.

We will not be any more or less happy due to any external factor. Such a belief prevents us from growing as human beings. We’re not going to feel any more realized – at least not in a stable way – when we get a new car or partner. Happiness is either within us or nowhere. 

6. Convincing ourselves that life is suffering

Maybe we’ve heard this: we can’t choose our problems, but we can choose whether we suffer from them or not. Some people see difficulty as a challenge and an opportunity to develop themselves. Other people think they are purely negative.

Assuming that suffering is normal,  that there is no choice, that life is actually just tears, that we are just moving from one pain to another… People who think like this tend to even think that good things are just a sign that more evil is coming.

7. The belief that someone or something can explain our pain

There are people who choose to explain their own frustrations or limitations by using external factors as excuses. They think that if it weren’t for their parents, their unemployment, or the injustice of the world, they would be happy. In other words, they blame the outside world for what they feel inside. However, this is wrong. People are able to overcome obstacles as long as they try.

As we can see, it is easy to fall into beliefs that prevent us from growing. Without even noticing, we interpret everything with these. In the end, we will only be stuck and unable to see the vast horizon that is all around us. Let us not allow these beliefs to affect us.