The Addiction of Certainty

Certainty is intoxicating. The rush of being right. The applause of agreement. The victory of proving a point.

However like every high, it fades and the cost is connection.

Belief often begins as a map. It helps us find our way when the world feels too large or confusing. It offers direction, a sense of grounding, a way to step forward without being paralyzed by uncertainty. At first, it feels like freedom … like someone handing us a compass in the middle of unfamiliar terrain.

Over time, maps can harden and the belief that once guided us can start to close in. Instead of showing us where we might go, it begins to dictate where we must stay. The edges become walls, and suddenly the map is less about discovery and more about defense. What was once a doorway becomes a cage.

When that happens, we stop exploring. We stop asking questions. Curiosity fades because the answers feel already decided. We begin to defend what we know instead of leaning into what we don’t; and in that defense, we start to repeat ourselves. The same explanations, the same justifications, the same worn paths. We circle back to them again and again as if repetition could equal truth!

The tragedy is that belief was never meant to trap us. It was meant to be a starting point, not the final word.

Like any map, it should be redrawn when the landscape changes.

That … takes courage.

The courage to admit that what once gave us comfort might now be holding us still. Yet, if we can soften our grip, belief can return to what it was always meant to be: a tool for movement, not confinement.

Know that belief addiction narrows vision, turns conversation into combat, and drains energy … leaving us weary but unwilling to let go.

Addiction is not cured by abstinence. The cure is lightness. Hold every belief like a feather, not a chain.

Ask:

What belief am I defending here?

What does it cost me to keep holding it?

The most courageous act is not defending what you know. It’s changing your mind.

Epilogue: (from "The Myth of Beliefs"):

“You weren’t born to defend, you were born to experience.”