Derek Thompson

whether it's personal problems, interpersonal problems, geopolitical problems, come from the unfortunate coincidence that far too many people take their faith as a fact, and they don't understand that what they hold as facts are nothing more than beliefs.

And so if we can examine the difference between these three types of convictions, I think we would all be a lot better for it.

My God, Derek, you asked the best questions.

This is a great question.

Very nicely asked.

I would say the big idea is beliefs are tools, not truths.

That's the big idea.

From practically speaking, I'm helping people do what has brought me so much peace in my life, which is to consider those beliefs that we hold, ask ourselves, are they limiting or are they liberating?

And there's a bit of a process to do that.

And then keeping the beliefs that serve us and letting go of the ones that hurt us.

That's the big idea.

The deeper idea that people are very uncomfortable with when they learn about what the research literature shows us is that we don't see reality clearly.

And this is very jarring for people because we all think that we perceive reality as it is, that we see it as it is, that we feel it as it is, that we have a grip on what reality actually looks like.

And the truth is that's just not the case, that the brain can't see reality as it is because it's incapable, that we don't see reality.

We predict reality.

Why?

Because right now your brain is absorbing 11 million bits of information.

Your brain is taking in 11 million bits.

That's the equivalent of reading War and Peace every second, twice.

the light entering your eyes, the sound of my voice in your ears, the ambient temperature of the room, 11 million bits of information.