The Achilles Heel – How our core negative beliefs make us vulnerable
- Guruprasad Shivakamat
- Aug 22, 2016
- 2 min read
Infant Achilles was dipped in the river Styx by his mother, holding onto him by his heel, and he became invulnerable, except the areas of his heel that were covered by her thumb and forefinger. Which later in his life became the cause of his defeat as was struck by an arrow.
Like Achilles, all of us have our vulnerable spot. We fight gallantly and manage to get across things and responsibilities, but when the negative core belief is triggered, we find it difficult to manage it, and may end up being disturbed. Everyone has a negative core belief.
Dr. Aaron Beck the founder of cognitive behaviour therapy largely divides core beliefs in three. I am Helpless – I am worthless – I am unlovable. These three core beliefs branch out in more than 100s of negative core belief. Negative Core beliefs are nothing but a thought about self around which we have woven out thoughts and behaviors. This individual core belief triggers the intermediate beliefs and then automatic thoughts. So what, seems like an automatic thought, in fact originates from our core beliefs.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Similarly, the same situation will trigger different negative core beliefs and cause disturbances. A negative core belief, just like the Achilles heel is present in everyone as no one is immune to this paradox. So find your negative core belief and the next time you are disturbed, chances are that it is due to your own beliefs rather than the situation or the other person.
References
Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters
Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Second Edition: Basics and Beyond
Schema Therapy: A Practitioner's Guide
The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Schema Therapy: Theory, Research and Practice (Wiley Clinical Psychology Handbooks)
About the Author
Learning addict. Speaker. Writer. Thought designer. Senior Psychologist and Trainer at Hope Doctors
Co-founder (Metamorphosis, Innovationadda). Author of GRIP™ why people don’t do what they want to.
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