Identifying a different, plausible cause for a situation can challenge and potentially weaken a limiting belief. This article delves into the methodology for uncovering alternative causes.

The Concept of Reversal

Begin with a reversal that immediately calls into question the logic behind your beliefs. This is inspired by a notable quote from Marten Toonder in a letter to Dick Matena:

"What happened in your youth is often the result
of an incident later in life"

Commonly, people believe the converse: experiences from youth lead to certain conditioned behaviors in later life. However, encountering a statement like Toonder's prompts a mental reevaluation. I interpret it as follows: when confronted with challenges or seeking explanations for unusual behavior, one might look back at past experiences. Given the multitude of past events, it's possible to attribute these as explanations for current situations or behaviors. Thus, you retrospectively reconstruct your childhood experiences, crafting a narrative that better suits your current understanding.

What Does This Say About You?

Another approach to challenging and reversing a belief involves searching for causes within oneself. Frequently, it's pertinent to ask, "What does this reveal about you?" or "What lesson can be drawn from this?" By doing so, the focus shifts from the specific details of the situation to exploring the personal attributes of the individual facing the issue.

"We don't see things as we are,
We see the things as we are."

Causality is an Illusion

Viewing causality — the linkage between cause and effect — as a flexible concept can be beneficial. This allows for the exploration of various causes behind an event. Consider, for example, a scenario where a man is fatally struck and killed by a truck in the street. Multiple potential causes could be considered:

• The truck driver was looking at his cell phone;
• The pedestrian man was not paying attention because he was looking at his cell phone;
• The pedestrian had an unusual schedule that day due to an argument with his girlfriend, placing him in the path of the truck;
• The truck driver was a romantic rival of the man and intentionally hit him;
• Financial difficulties forced the pedestrian to move in with his girlfriend, inadvertently leading him to that specific location;
• A neighbor had forgotten something, carelessly parked his car, and thus created a hazardous condition that contributed to the accident.

Conclusion

This list illustrates how the narrative can expand indefinitely with alternative explanations. The true cause remains speculative, highlighting that any obstructive line of reasoning can be challenged by introducing different causes.