What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?

We asked folks a question that led to many surprising answers – some sad, some thought-provoking and some funny. We’ve highlighted a cross section of those responses below.

Bridget McGuinness

As a child, I believed I had to handle everything on my own. Being the oldest, I felt responsible not only for myself but often for others too. I learned not to ask for help and became a people pleaser, always putting everyone else’s needs before my own. Today, I no longer carry those beliefs. Read more>>

Asher Countryman

As a child, I believed I was unworthy of love, safety, connection, and relationships that were anything deeper than surface-level or rooted in manipulation. I grew up thinking that genuine care and emotional presence simply weren’t meant for me. But as the years passed and I devoted myself to inner work—especially through my Shakti Naam yoga practice with Dr. Read more>>

Jessica Carlos

As a child and bred overachiever (eldest daughter and parentified child syndrome), I believed I need to be the best at everything. I treated life as a checklist of things I needed to accomplish in perfect order, or I would not be happy. If I got into USC and then my dream law school, I would reach all my goals. Read more>>

Bryce Hansen

When I was a kid, I truly believed my disability meant I would never be able to do much. I thought it put a limit on who I could become. Doctors told me what I wouldn’t be able to do, schools took me out of sports, and I spent a lot of time feeling like I was always a step behind everyone else. Read more>>

Tomás Decurgez

I’ve always loved movies. Growing up in the ’90s—arguably one of the greatest decades for cinema—I was that kid in Argentina who was completely swept up by storytelling. That passion eventually pushed me to move to Los Angeles to pursue acting and filmmaking. I arrived knowing no one. Read more>>

Jack. Kenway Cheng

Growing up in China, everyone around me was always telling me about how there was no way I was gonna be stable in the United States and also have a career in acting at all. And even Acting, I was always told to only be a specific way and also change or fix myself to be a certain way that fits a certain threshold. Read more>>