vince

Belief: The Hidden Engine Of The World

You ever sit through a haircut, quietly dreading every second of it?

In fact, even early on, you already knew.
It wasn’t going the way you wanted — not even close.
But instead of saying something, you just sat there, trying to act normal, hoping somehow it would turn out okay.

By the time it was done, the feeling had already settled in.
They turned the chair, held up the mirror, and asked, “How’s that?”
And without skipping a beat, you smiled and said, “Yeah, looks good.”
But inside... you fucking hated it.

It’s easy to laugh it off or tell yourself it’s not a big deal.
But the truth is, you knew.
You knew early on that it wasn’t right, and still, you stayed quiet — not because you were trying to protect their feelings or because you didn’t want to be rude, but because you didn’t want to sit in the discomfort of interrupting the moment.

Speaking up would’ve meant dealing with that awkward stretch of silence, the self-consciousness that comes from asking for something to be different, the possibility of being misunderstood or seen as difficult. And that, more than anything, was what you were trying to avoid.

It’s not really about the haircut. It never is.

This is about all the moments when we feel that subtle internal signal — a quiet this doesn’t feel right — and choose to override it.
It happens in conversations we don’t want to be in, in meetings where we nod along while disagreeing internally, in relationships we hold on to even though they feel long past their time.

So then the question becomes — if we can see the pattern, if we know we’ve been overriding ourselves in moments both big and small, what exactly can we do about it?

If you’re still reading this far, then you’re already past the first step.

You already notice this about yourself.
You’ve felt the pattern. You’ve seen the signs. You know there’s something here that keeps showing up.

The next time it's happening —
the subtle discomfort, the urge to stay quiet, the familiar feeling of overriding yourself —
pause for just a moment, and ask:

What belief am I holding that’s causing me to act this way?

Not what’s wrong with me. Not how to fix it. Just:
What must I believe about myself, others, or the situation… that makes this my response?

And if that feels too abstract, try getting closer by asking:

What if I told you — the whole world simply operates on what people believe in?

Not just these small moments, but everything.
Institutions. Relationships. Identity. Culture.
All of it built on individual, and shared beliefs.
And most of the time, those beliefs aren’t chosen — they’re inherited.

Which means every time you act — or don’t — you’re not making a choice in the way you think.
You’re just playing out the strongest belief you hold in that moment.
That’s what determines whether you speak or stay silent, whether you follow the discomfort or override it.

Every action — or inaction — is not a conscious decision in the way we like to think.

There is no real decision.
There is only the strongest belief you hold in that moment, quietly determining what you say, what you avoid, what you do, or don’t do.

And here’s the thing: once you understand that, everything starts to shift.
Because if a belief is what’s driving you, then you have the power to pause and ask —
what else do I believe?

What belief might I hold that could eventually become stronger than the one I’ve been conditioned to follow?

This is where real, lasting change begins.

Not by pushing harder. Not by pretending to be someone else.
But by building a new internal foundation — one belief at a time — until what once felt impossible becomes natural.
And what once ran your life quietly in the background begins to lose its grip.

Because the moment you stop trying to force your behavior,
and start understanding your beliefs,
you stop reacting to the world — and start rewriting your place in it.