Core beliefs are the things people believe about themselves and the way they interact with the world at large. Core beliefs that continually cause problems can be thought of as negative core beliefs. For example, Susan has a core belief that people cannot be trusted. This core belief has serious implications. She devotes a lot of energy trying to anticipate and protect herself from betrayal or potential assault. Since Susan has difficulty communicating basic trust to others, she creates tension and discomfort in her relationships. Susan watches for information that supports this belief, and ignores information that points to the contrary. When she sees trustworthy, caring behavior from others, she does not notice it, or else assumes that it is only a foil for the real betrayal and hurt that is sure to come.

People develop their core beliefs in response to their experiences at home, at work, at school, or in the larger community. Individuals who grew up in troubled families might be especially vulnerable to negative core beliefs because of their difficult childhoods. Common negative core beliefs include:

I can’t trust anybody
I am the only person I can depend on
Things never work out the way I want them to
Life is hard work
People don’t tell the truth
There’s something wrong with me
I’m a failure – I never do anything right
I’m responsible if anything goes wrong around me.

If people think these thoughts often enough, they become automatic, and after awhile, develop into guiding principles for life. Each time they find themselves in a difficult situation, they may return to these beliefs, which then take on a life of their own, and become self-fulfilling prophesies.

Challenging and Changing Core Beliefs

The first step to stopping this cycle is to identify the core belief that is triggered by an action. The next step is to determine whether or not the core belief is negative, and if so, to construct a dispute, or a challenge, that will indicate that the belief is not an absolute rule. Once this is accepted, a negative core belief can be set aside in favor of a more positive belief, which may then yield an alternate consequence.

Consider this situation: One morning, Jack’s supervisor comes into the office with a scowl on his face, walks by their desks without saying a word, and slams his office door shut. Jack wonders for a moment why the boss is in such a bad mood, and then goes back to his work. Same, however, has a different response. When he sees his supervisor’s face, Sam becomes tense and nervous. He hopes the boss will not come out of the office and yell at him. For the rest of the morning, Sam has difficulty concentrating on his work because he keeps wondering why his supervisor is angry with him. Notice, of course that the boss’s unhappy entrance did not yield a single predictable response. Jack and Sam experienced different personal reactions because they assigned different beliefs to their supervisor’s actions.

If Sam were to challenge his core beliefs, he might begin by identifying his supervisor’s entrance as an action that resulted in him feeling tense and nervous, and his reaction as being unable to work. If he continues with this process, he might note that he believes that every time someone is angry, it is his fault. Sam might challenge this belief by telling himself that the last time his supervisor appeared upset, it was because his dog was hit by a truck, and he never blamed Sam at all. Challenging himself in this way might allow Sam to recognize that his boss might not blame him this time either, relax, and get back to work.