Belief Friction

Energy in Motion... Until Something Gets in the Way

Einstein famously said that energy in motion stays in motion, unless something applies friction. In your food blogging journey, you’ve likely felt that momentum. A great idea strikes, the content flows, the excitement builds. But then? It stalls. The recipes sit unpublished. The newsletter doesn’t get sent. The extra revenue stream you wanted to start stops.

That friction? It often comes from within. From beliefs, both conscious and subconscious, that silently slow us down.

Your Mindset as a Source of Friction

Much of what holds us back as food bloggers isn’t a lack of skill or creativity; it’s the stories we tell ourselves. Our subconscious runs the majority of the show, but conscious beliefs also influence our daily decisions. Even if we don’t pause to examine them, they’re steering the wheel.

Maybe you’ve caught yourself thinking:

• “This isn’t a real job.”

• “I never have enough time.”

• “I can’t post this unless it’s perfect.”

These aren’t just thoughts. They’re rules you’ve unknowingly created based on your belief system. And they can grind your momentum to a halt.

How Beliefs Become Rules

When you believe something often enough, your brain starts treating it like a fact. Soon, you’re making choices based on invisible rules. For example:

• Belief: “This isn’t a real job.”
  Rule: “I can’t justify spending real work hours on my blog.”

• Belief: “I never have enough time.”
  Rule: “There’s no point starting this post—I’ll never finish it.”

• Belief: “It has to be perfect.”
  Rule: “If I can’t get the lighting right, I shouldn’t publish at all.”

These beliefs feel so familiar, they don’t even register as opinions anymore. But that’s exactly what they are. They’re opinions, not facts.

A Simple 7-Minute Exercise to Reveal Your Belief Friction

One way to uncover these hidden beliefs is with a quick, powerful writing practice:

Try this:

1. Set a timer for 7 minutes.

2. Write freely about how you're feeling about your blog—no censoring, no editing.

3. When the timer ends, go back and circle every statement that isn’t a fact.

But What Is a Fact?

Here’s the key: for something to be a fact, everyone would have to agree with it.

Examples:

• “I posted three blog entries last month” = fact.

• “My blog isn’t successful” = belief.

When you start circling those statements, you may be surprised how much of your inner dialogue is based on assumptions and self-imposed pressure. It’s easy to confuse beliefs with facts, especially when we’ve thought them for a long time. (It's just as easy to fight for your opinions to be facts too, BTW. That's why it can be really helpful to have a second set of eyes on your beliefs.)

Why Identifying Beliefs Changes Everything

Once you start to see these patterns, the friction loses its grip. You realize that the rule stopping you from posting a recipe that’s not perfect isn’t a law; it’s just a belief you picked up along the way.

The goal here isn’t to change the belief immediately (that’s a bigger process, and one we’ll explore in a future article). It’s to notice it. To bring it into the light. That awareness alone can get your energy moving again.

Want Help Seeing What’s Holding You Back?

If you’re tired of starting and stopping, of questioning whether your work is “real” or “good enough,” I’m here to help. These belief patterns can be tricky to spot on your own, but they’re not permanent.

Click here to book a free discovery call with me.

We'll use the time to look at what’s slowing you down, so that you can get back into motion.