Liminal Thinking

If you’re part of the system you want to change, you’re part of the problem

If you’re part of the system you want to change, you’re part of the problem

He didn’t realize—at least, not at first—that his behavior was causing the very problem he wanted to solve

Liminal Thinking requires courage: When your beliefs are being threatened, and your instinct says “defend the belief,” you need to go toward that fear if you want to open the door to lasting change.

Governing beliefs, which form the basis for other beliefs, are the most difficult to change, because they are tied to personal identity and feelings of self-worth. You can’t change your governing beliefs without changing yourself.

In fact, governing beliefs are so important to group cohesion that their very existence depends on not talking about them.

When you are doing everything you can to fulfill an unmet need, and you are not having success or feeling any traction, you look for reasons. Something must be blocking you. What could it be?

Beliefs are unconsciously defended by a bubble of self-sealing logic, which maintains them even when they are invalid, to protect personal identity and self-worth.

People rarely test ideas for external validity when they don’t have internal coherence.

This is self-sealing logic at work. New information from outside the bubble of belief is discounted, or distorted, because it conflicts with the version of reality that exists inside the bubble.