Nikhil Kabadi

Our attachment to beliefs destroys our capacity to change.

Consider Linus Pauling, one of the only five people ever awarded multiple Nobel Prizes, and one of just two to receive them in different fields: Chemistry and Peace.

An ardent believer in Vitamin C tablets as a “miracle cure” for cancer (he even co-authored the book Cancer and Vitamin C), Pauling reacted bitterly when clinical trials revealed it was merely a placebo effect. He denounced the studies as “fraud and deliberate misrepresentation.”

Despite mounting data contradicting his stance, he chose to disregard the studies, doubled down on promoting megadoses of vitamin C, all the while dismissing critics as “scoundrels.”

Needless to say, this deep attachment to a flawed belief cost him dearly, not his Nobel legacy, but his credibility in the field of evidence-based inquiry.

Pauling’s story isn’t unique. Again and again, examples crop up: where individuals cling to a belief tightly enough, that it stops being a perspective and starts becoming part of their identity.

Better decisions come from clarity of perception, which leads to accuracy of response. Poor decisions, however, stem from clinging to beliefs, causing us to build defensive walls within an echo chamber.

Beliefs left unquestioned become ego. And ego makes change superficial.

“What you call change, is simply moving the furniture around. Your behavior is changed, but not you.” – Anthony De Mello, Awareness

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🍪 Fortune Cookie:

Pick a belief. Any belief. Big. Small. About work. Relationships. Success…

Here are a few examples to help you think:

• People can’t be trusted to work remotely.
• Admitting uncertainty is a sign of weakness.
• To be successful, I must constantly stay busy.
• Deciding quickly is always better.
• Changing my mind shows weakness.

Now imagine that belief belongs to your boss, friend, or spouse… Not you.

Then, as if you were advising them, answer this question:

“What are they giving up or avoiding by holding onto this assumption?”

Real change begins not with effort, but with the courage to question what we think we know.

Skills like Socratic Unlearning, within Mindful Productivity, make that kind of change possible.