What Inside Out 2 Gets Right About Core Beliefs (And Why We All Have Them)

“I’m not good enough.”

Of all the moments in Inside Out 2, this was perhaps the one that stopped me in my tracks. As Riley’s sense of self begins to change under the influence of Anxiety, a new belief emerges deep within headquarters:

“I’m not good enough.”

For many people watching, this moment felt uncomfortable - not because it was unrealistic, but because it felt familiar.

As a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, I found myself thinking that Pixar had accidentally created one of the most powerful visual representations of core beliefs I have ever seen. And if you have worked with me around the time this film came out - you will know as I had you all watching it.

Whilst many people are familiar with thoughts and emotions, fewer people have heard of core beliefs. Yet they are often at the very heart of how we see ourselves, other people, and the world around us.

What Are Core Beliefs?

Core beliefs are the deeply held beliefs we carry about ourselves, others, and the world. They often sit beneath the surface of our awareness, quietly influencing how we think, feel, and behave.

Examples might include:

• I’m not good enough.

• I’m different.

• I’m a failure.

• I’m unlovable.

• I don’t belong.

• People will let me down.

• The world isn’t safe.

These beliefs rarely appear overnight.

Instead, they tend to develop gradually through our experiences. Sometimes they are shaped by significant life events, sometimes they emerge through repeated experiences over many years, sometimes they are influenced by the messages we receive from others. Sometimes they develop because we are trying to make sense of experiences that felt confusing, painful, or difficult at the time.

What makes Inside Out 2 so powerful is that it captures this process beautifully. Riley isn’t born believing she is good enough or not good enough - her sense of self develops through her experiences - just as ours does.

The Stories We Create About Ourselves

One of the central principles of CBT is that it is not simply events themselves that shape us. It is often the meaning we make of those events.

For example, imagine two children receiving the same piece of feedback.

One might think:

“I made a mistake.”

Another might conclude:

“I’m not good enough.”

The event is the same, however, the meaning is different.

Over time, these meanings can become woven into our identity. Then the more experiences that appear to support a belief, the stronger it can become. Before long, what started as a conclusion becomes something that feels like a fact.

But beliefs are not facts - even when they feel convincing.

Looking Back Through A Different Lens

This is something I understand not only as a therapist, but also personally. For much of my life, I knew I experienced the world differently, but I didn’t fully understand why.

There were challenges, experiences, and patterns that often felt confusing. At times, I drew conclusions about myself that were rooted more in misunderstanding than reality.

When I was diagnosed with AuDHD, many of those experiences suddenly made sense in a way they never had before.

The diagnosis didn’t change who I was. Just like it didn’t erase the challenges I had faced. But it changed the lens through which I understood them.

Things I had interpreted as personal failings could now be understood differently. Experiences that had fuelled self-criticism could be viewed with greater compassion. And perhaps most importantly, it changed how I spoke to myself.

I sometimes wonder how different certain experiences might have felt if I had understood myself earlier. Not because understanding removes every difficulty- but because understanding often softens the harsh conclusions we draw about ourselves.

And that is something I see repeatedly in therapy.

Enter: The Rules For Living

One of the things CBT teaches us is that core beliefs rarely stay hidden. We develop ways of coping with them.

These are often called “rules for living.” If somebody carries the belief:

“I’m not good enough.”

They may develop rules such as:

• I must never make mistakes.

• I must work harder than everyone else.

• I must always achieve.

• I must never let people down.

• I must always be strong.

If somebody believes:

“People won’t accept me.”

They may create rules such as:

• I must please everyone.

• I must avoid conflict.

• I must never upset anyone.

• I must hide how I really feel.

These rules often make perfect sense.

In fact, they are usually developed as a way of protecting ourselves. The problem is that whilst they may help in the short term, they can become exhausting in the long term.

What Anxiety Is Really Protecting

This is where Inside Out 2 becomes particularly interesting.

Anxiety isn’t simply trying to make Riley worry. Anxiety is trying to protect her. She’s trying to protect Riley from rejection, embarrassment, failure and not belonging.

In many ways, Anxiety is working hard to stop Riley from experiencing the pain associated with the belief:

“I’m not good enough.”

And if we’re honest, many of us have an internal Anxiety doing exactly the same thing.

It encourages us to prepare, plan, overthink, double-check, seek reassurance, avoid risks and stay safe.

Not because it wants to harm us - but because it believes it is protecting us.

The difficulty is that when Anxiety takes complete control, life can become smaller. Opportunities become threats. Mistakes become disasters. And we can lose sight of who we are beneath the fear.

When The Rules Stop Working

Many people arrive in therapy feeling exhausted because they have spent years trying to follow impossible rules.

The perfectionist who cannot switch off.

The people-pleaser who feels responsible for everyone else.

The high achiever who never feels successful enough.

The person who constantly seeks reassurance but never feels reassured.

Often these behaviours make complete sense once we understand the beliefs sitting underneath them. Understanding those beliefs is often where meaningful change begins.

What CBT Actually Tries To Do

One of the biggest misconceptions about CBT is that it is about replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

In reality, good CBT is far more compassionate than that. The goal is not to force ourselves to believe“I’m amazing.” if we don’t believe it.

The goal is to become curious and understand where our beliefs came from. To explore whether they are still serving us and to gather new experiences.

We aim to develop a more balanced and compassionate understanding of ourselves, because whilst our beliefs may explain our experiences, they do not have to define our future.

More Than One Story

Towards the end of Inside Out 2, Riley begins to realise something important.

She is not simply one thing.

She is not defined by one emotion.

One mistake.

One achievement.

One belief.

She is complicated.

Messy.

Growing.

Human.

And perhaps that is one of the most important lessons CBT can teach us too.

We are rarely the stories we have spent years telling ourselves - we are often much more than that.

Sometimes healing begins not when we learn to think positively, but when we become curious enough to question whether the beliefs we carry are the only version of the story.

And sometimes, just like Riley, we discover that there is room for a much kinder understanding of ourselves.

🌿 Sophie Bolam CBT