Believe This, Not That

For years, I believed things about myself that were never proven.

I believed I was behind.

I believed I wasn’t consistent enough.

I believed that if something felt hard, it meant I wasn’t meant to do it.

No one told me these things out loud. I learned them slowly, from comparison, silence, and my own inner voice. And the worst part was this—I trusted those thoughts as facts.

It took a long time to realize that not every thought deserves belief.

The Moment I Questioned My Own Thinking

One evening, after a long day, I caught myself saying something familiar:

“I always mess things up.”

The sentence slipped out easily, like it had been waiting.

But this time, I paused.

I thought about the day I had just lived. I had shown up. I had tried. I had handled a few hard moments with more patience than I used to. That didn’t look like “always messing up.”

That’s when it hit me: I was believing stories that didn’t match my reality.

And if I could learn those beliefs, maybe I could unlearn them too.

Believe This: Thoughts Are Not Truth

For a long time, I thought my thoughts were accurate reflections of who I was.

If my mind said I wasn’t good enough, I believed it.

If it said I was falling behind, I accepted it.

But thoughts are reactions, not reports.

They’re shaped by fear, habit, past experiences, and tiredness. They don’t always tell the truth—they tell a version of it, often the harshest one.

Once I understood that, I stopped letting every thought decide how I felt about myself.

Not That: Discomfort Means Failure

One belief kept showing up whenever things got difficult:

If this feels hard, I must be doing it wrong.

I believed that for years.

But growth is uncomfortable by nature. Learning stretches you. Change unsettles you. Effort can feel awkward and slow.

The problem wasn’t the discomfort. The problem was the meaning I attached to it.

I started believing this instead:

Hard doesn’t mean wrong. Hard means I’m learning.

That belief alone kept me going on days I would’ve quit before.

Believe This: Progress Can Be Quiet

I used to think progress had to be visible to matter.

Big results. Clear milestones. Obvious wins.

When I didn’t see those things, I assumed nothing was happening.

But progress often whispers. It shows up as patience instead of panic. As consistency instead of perfection. As choosing to try again when quitting would be easier.

Once I believed that quiet progress still counts, I stopped dismissing my effort.

Not That: Everyone Else Has It Figured Out

Comparison was one of my strongest beliefs:

Everyone else knows what they’re doing. I’m the only one unsure.

That belief kept me stuck and silent.

The truth? Most people are learning as they go. They just don’t talk about the uncertainty. They don’t post the doubt, the confusion, or the false starts.

Believing that I wasn’t alone in my uncertainty made me braver. It helped me ask questions, try new things, and stop pretending.

Believe This: You Can Choose What You Trust

The most powerful thing I learned is this—you get to choose what you believe.

Not every thought deserves agreement. Not every story deserves your energy.

You can question the voice that says you’re not enough. You can challenge the belief that says it’s too late. You can replace old assumptions with kinder truths.

Beliefs shape behavior. And behavior shapes life.

Choosing better beliefs doesn’t make life perfect—but it makes it lighter.

A Thoughtful Ending

Believe this, not that:

Believe you’re learning.

Not that you’re failing.

Believe progress takes time.

Not that you’re behind.

Believe you’re allowed to grow at your own pace.

Not that you need to rush to be worthy.

What you believe quietly guides how you live.

Choose beliefs that support you.

Choose beliefs that give you room to breathe.

That choice changes more than you think.

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Thank you for reading...

Regards: Fazal Hadi