Why is it so hard to convince myself of something that I logically know is true?
15 Answers
Last Updated: 11/15/2021 at 6:49am
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Stacy Overton, PhD.
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I am an enthusiastic life-long learner and also a professor of counseling. I have a passion for peoples stories and helping to guide and empower the human spirit.
Top Rated Answers
Anonymous
January 28th, 2015 10:28am
Because the heart disobeys the head. We delude ourselves and deny the truth in order to avoid pain. But the faster you face the truth, the sooner you can heal your heart and give your mind the peace it craves.
It is because, for some reason, somewhere deep in your mind you feel a bit unsafe and insecure about it
Anonymous
March 21st, 2016 6:03pm
It's one thing to reason out something, but it's another to truly believe it. Belief is a combination of both logical reasoning and emotion; together, this forms the overarching rationalization for our actions. Even if something seems "logically true," you still need to rationalize the truth within your heart.
Sometimes our emotions, may block our logical side. Feelings may keep us blind. Therefore instead of our minds/ brains, we let our heart mostly decide the way. And we can not control it any time we want. Those times it's hard to convince yourself by only logic, unfortunately. Cause your heart needs more sensitive reasons to believe / to be convinced. But it is not something quite bad to be honestly, cause it's our nature, shows that we're human. And don't forget no matter which one -your heart or your brain- speaks louder, the last decision will be always yours.
Anonymous
May 3rd, 2016 3:11am
Why it is probably too hard is maybe you overthink it. Or, you are so stressed out about this something that you need to be a bit more light-hearted.
I always thought it was because it was something you didn't want to believe. Yes it logical, but the truth would be painful, so your mind won't allow it to be true to protect yourself.
Because belief and emotion often overpowers logic. For example for me I know that going on a walk will result in a good time with my daughters logically. However for some reason anxiety makes me feel like the only outcome is a horrid accident. Yet logically that is super super unlikely with how closely I watch them. So the problem isn't flawed logic, it's what feeling is driving your disbelief.
It's hard because sometimes we really don't want to believe or even want the fact to be true. But perhaps unfortunately it is. At least you have identified the first step - that you know that it is true but you're having a hard time accepting it. #simplesmallsteps One step at a time, identify what's stopping you from convincing yourself and try to seek subsequent remedies.
Insecurity? Too much knowledge? Mistrusting? May I ask what you are trying to convince yourself of? For me I can find any and every logical reason why someone shouldn't love me, or why they should abandon me.
A small part of you is fighting against the idea for some reason. Sometimes the head fights against the heart. Question why you feel that way and discuss how you feel with someone you trust.
Sometimes, we don’t want to admit something about ourselves that we know is true because we are scared of what others might think of ourselves, when we aren’t even happy with ourselves. We are in denial. And that is okay.
I think that, at least in my experience, a lot of the time I'll know something to be true but it won't feel that way. In my case, the reason for that is that when I make mistakes I don't think 'I did something bad' but rather 'I am bad'. Falling into those negative thinking patterns in those instances makes us more susceptible to doubting ourselves and what we know to be true. So we might question what we know to be true, what makes sense, in favor of what we feel in that particular instance. So maybe don't try to convince yourself but rather pay attention to the way you feel and think during those times for some clarity. In my case, hearing from somebody else what I know to be true also helps.
Anonymous
October 5th, 2020 5:36pm
I've wondered this a lot myself actually. I have OCD so my brain is accustomed to rejecting logical ideas, like washing my hands over and over is not health, it has gotten better as I grew older. Although, for me at least, it didn't get any better until I saw a psychiatrist and started taking medication that helps with the OCD ruminations. It can be really hard to believe something that your mind simply doesn't want to be real. Talking to a therapist was very helpful, it let me know that I'm not the only person who goes through this.
Because sometimes the logical answer will hurt you, so its a lot more easier and simple for people to choose every other answer around it so it doesn't hurt. A lot like denial.
I think this is something that happens to us all. We love something, we care for someone, and they do not love us back but our heart still says "No, you can't leave him/her"
And this is not only the case, every one has a different story. But the main thing is, in our heart we do not want to let go that feeling. That's why it becomes hard for us to accept that thing truly. It takes a lot of time and courage to accept the things that your heart is not willing to accept. So just sit and think about that particular thing and try to convince yourself and move on because this is the only thing you will be doing sooner or later
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