Nir Eyal joins the podcast to explore one of the most foundational forces shaping our lives: belief. What if the way you see reality isn’t reality itself, but a simulation filtered through prior assumptions, expectations, and unconscious scripts? In this conversation, we unpack the difference between fact, faith, and belief—and why most of our suffering stems from confusing the three. Nir shares powerful research on predictive processing, placebo and nocebo effects, learned helplessness, and how our expectations literally alter what we see, feel, and experience in our bodies. From secular prayer and gratitude practices to Byron Katie’s turnaround method, this episode is a deep dive into how to move from limiting beliefs to liberating ones. If beliefs are tools, then the real question becomes: are the ones you’re using serving you? EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/knowthyself Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee 3/10 Book release: http://geni.us/beyondbelief André's Book Recs: https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com/book-list ___________ 00:00 Intro 01:35 The Difference Between Fact, Faith, and Belief 05:36 Illusions of Reality 07:29 The Core of Our Perception 15:52 Where to Start Enacting Change on Your Life 19:53 Beliefs as Tools, Not Truths 25:28 Ad: Nord VPN 26:32 The Cosmic Slot Machine 37:39 Spotting Your Limiting Beliefs 46:39 The Prison of Our Own Making 51:33 Why We Perceive Threats Everywhere 1:00:18 Becoming Indistractable 1:12:57 What Attention Means Today versus the Past 1:26:44 The Motivation Triangle 1:32:00 Closing Thoughts ___________ Episode Resources: https://www.instagram.com/neyal99 https://nir.substack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/andreduqum/ https://www.instagram.com/knowthyself/ https://www.youtube.com/@knowthyselfpodcast https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com Listen to the show: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4bZMq9l Apple: https://apple.co/4iATICX