You try something once, it doesn’t work and before you even notice it, you have built a belief around that moment. “I’m just not good at this.” “This kind of thing never works for me.” The assumption sinks in and from then on, every time a similar opportunity comes up, you filter it through that belief without even questioning it.
It’s the same thing when you’ve worked under people who didn’t trust your judgment. Or when you were only ever praised for playing it safe. You start adjusting your expectations to match how you were treated. And without meaning to, you stop thinking in terms of what’s possible and instead, you start thinking in terms of what you’ve been told is realistic.
This slowly becomes your default because it’s familiar now. You don’t even question it anymore and before long, it starts guiding your choices without you even realizing it. That’s how assumptions become habits. And the more often you listen to them, the more convincing they sound.