Beyond Belief: Nir Eyal on the Psychology That Shapes Focus
In a world of constant distraction, productivity isn’t just about blocking apps or managing time, it’s about what we believe is possible for ourselves.
Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Indistractable, has spent years studying how behavior, attention, and belief shape the way we live and work. In his upcoming book, Beyond Belief, Nir explores a deeper layer of human behavior, the hidden beliefs that quietly limit our potential, often without us realizing it.
We sat down with Nir to talk about the ideas behind new book, the psychology of self-limiting beliefs, and how reshaping what we believe can help us reclaim focus, confidence, and agency in an increasingly noisy world.
What sparked the idea for Beyond Belief?
I used to run office hours for readers of Indistractable. People would show up with their problems, and I’d walk them through the techniques in the book. “Have you tried this? What about that?” And they’d inevitably say, “No, I haven’t tried it yet.”
That’s when it hit me: This is the fundamental problem with self-help. People know what they need to do. They understand the steps. But they don’t believe it’ll actually make a difference for them. It’s probably not a surprise that if you don’t have conviction that something will work, you won’t do it. It’s that simple. I realized I needed to write about belief itself—not as some woo-woo concept, but as the practical, science-backed mechanism that determines whether we actually follow through on what we know.
I realized I needed to write about belief itself—not as some woo-woo concept, but as the practical, science-backed mechanism that determines whether we actually follow through on what we know.
You’ve spent years studying behavior change. Why do you think beliefs are often the “missing link” when people struggle to follow through on their goals?
In Part 1 of Beyond Belief, I talk about the motivation triangle: benefits, behavior, and belief. You can know all the benefits of a behavior change—better health, more focus, whatever. You can know exactly what actions to take. But if that third leg is missing—if you don’t believe it’ll actually make a difference for you—the whole thing collapses.
We tend to focus on the first two: “Here are the benefits! Here are the steps!” But belief is what connects knowing to doing. Without it, you’re just collecting productivity advice you’ll never use.
Many people feel stuck despite having tools, systems, and motivation. How do hidden beliefs quietly keep people in that stuck state?
These beliefs operate like invisible background programs running on your mental operating system. You might consciously want to change, but there’s a belief quietly whispering, “People like you don’t do things like that” or “You’ve tried before and it didn’t work.”
The worst part is that these beliefs feel like facts. They don’t announce themselves as beliefs—they masquerade as reality. Someone doesn’t think, “I believe I’m bad at networking.” They think, “I am bad at networking. That’s just who I am.” And the moment you mistake a belief for an unchangeable truth, you stop questioning it. You stop testing whether it’s actually true. You just accept the limits it imposes.
Someone doesn’t think, “I believe I’m bad at networking.” They think, “I am bad at networking. That’s just who I am.” And the moment you mistake a belief for an unchangeable truth, you stop questioning it.
For readers familiar with your work on distraction and focus, Indistractable focused on mastering attention in a distracting world. How does Beyond Belief build on that work or take the conversation a step deeper?
Indistractable gave people a system for managing their attention and controlling distraction. But I kept hearing from readers who’d say, “This makes sense, but…” And that “but” was always some version of “I don’t think this will work for me.”
Beyond Belief addresses that “but.” It’s about the beliefs that determine whether you actually use the tools and systems you already have access to. Think of Indistractable as giving you the map and the vehicle. Beyond Belief is about removing the mental roadblocks that keep you from turning the key.
For someone who’s already working on focus and distraction, what new insight does your upcoming offer that might surprise them?
The research on anticipation was a revelation for me. We think our experience of the world is objective—this task is boring, this meeting is exhausting, this workout is hard. But your brain is constantly running simulations based on what you expect to happen, and those expectations literally shape what you experience.
This means you’re not just fighting distraction in the moment. You’re fighting the anticipation that made you expect to be distracted in the first place. Once you understand that mechanism, you can actually reprogram the simulation. It’s not just about positive thinking. It’s about recognizing that your beliefs about an experience often matter more than the experience itself.
In the new book, you introduce the Three Powers of Belief: Attention, Anticipation, and Agency. At a high level, why did you frame belief through these three lenses rather than as a single mindset shift?
Because “mindset shift” is too vague to be useful. What does that actually mean? What do you do differently?
The three powers give you specific mechanisms. Attention explains why you see what you expect to see. Anticipation shows how your expectations literally shape your experience before anything happens. Agency reveals how your sense of control over a situation changes what you’re physiologically capable of.
These three powers form distinct psychological pathways with different practical applications, rather than just being abstract concepts. When you understand all three, you can identify exactly which one is holding you back in any given situation and address it specifically.
For someone who feels overwhelmed, distracted, or burnt out, what’s a small but meaningful way they can start challenging a limiting belief today?
Start with what I call “belief testing.” Pick one thing you’ve been avoiding because you “know” it won’t work for you. Maybe it’s time-blocking, or saying no to meetings, or delegating a task. Whatever it is, try it once with genuine curiosity. Not to prove yourself right or wrong, but to collect actual evidence.
The key is approaching it like an experiment, not a commitment. You’re asking, “What actually happens when I try this?” You’re not asking, “Will this transform my life?” Most limiting beliefs survive because we never test them. We just accept them as truth. One experiment creates a crack in that certainty.
Is there a belief pattern you see repeatedly that undermines focus, confidence, or follow-through?
“I’m just not disciplined enough.” I hear this constantly. People see someone who’s productive or focused and assume they have some special trait they themselves lack. But discipline isn’t a personality trait you’re born with. It’s a skill built through repeated practice in manageable doses.
This belief is particularly destructive because it makes failure feel inevitable and success feel impossible. You don’t try new systems because you’ve already decided you lack the fundamental capacity. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy that keeps people stuck in patterns they could absolutely change.
Tools like Freedom help people create boundaries with distractions. In a world of infinite feeds and notifications, how do you think external tools and internal beliefs can work together, rather than competing with each other?
External tools are essential. They’re the scaffolding that makes behavior change possible. But most people miss the fact that tool only works if you believe the boundaries matter.
I see people install blocking software, then immediately look for workarounds. Why? Because there’s a belief underneath: “This email might be urgent” or “I need to stay connected.” The tool can’t override that belief.
The magic happens when the two work together. The external tool creates the space and removes the friction. The internal belief gives you the conviction to actually use that space productively instead of feeling deprived. Approached in this manner, you’re not just blocking Instagram; you’re protecting time you genuinely believe is valuable. That shift in belief is what makes the tool stick.
If readers take away just one idea from Beyond Belief, what do you hope stays with them long after they finish the book?
That your beliefs are not facts about reality. They’re hypotheses you can test.
When you realize that what feels like an unchangeable truth about yourself is actually just a belief you’ve never questioned, everything opens up. You’re not trying to force yourself to believe something untrue. You’re just being curious enough to ask, “What if this belief isn’t as solid as it feels?”
That curiosity—that willingness to test your assumptions—is what breaks through the invisible ceilings we build for ourselves. It’s available to anyone, starting right now.
To learn more about Nir or his work, or blog – you can visit his site at NirAndFar.com.
