Beyond Belief – Nir Eyal

[21] All these examples demonstrate a common point: When psychological constraints are removed or altered, anticipation can reveal capabilities we don’t know we possess, leading to fundamental shifts in what our bodies can accomplish. The Biology of Belief Let’s return to Team Strong Silvers, the senior fitness enthusiasts from Singapore we met at the beginning of this chapter. Their rejection of conventional beliefs about aging has led them to maintain training routines that most people their age gave up long ago.

Are they simply unusual individuals, or do they represent something more profound about how beliefs shape the aging process? Dr. Becca Levy at Yale University has led groundbreaking research on precisely this question. In a landmark longitudinal study, Levy and colleagues followed 660 people aged fifty and older for nearly twenty-three years. They discovered that those with more positive views of aging lived, on average, 7.5 years longer than those with negative views, even after controlling for health status, socioeconomic factors, and other variables.[22] This wasn’t a minor statistical blip.

The impact of positive aging beliefs on longevity was greater than the effects of lower blood pressure or cholesterol (which add about four years), or maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, and exercising regularly (which add about one to three years each). When researchers measured biomarkers of aging, they found that positive beliefs were associated with healthier profiles, including lower inflammation markers and stress hormones.

But again, these biological differences weren’t magical; they emerged from concrete behavioral and psychological pathways. What do these pathways look like, and how do beliefs about aging affect them? Here’s an example: When people hold negative aging beliefs (“I might fall” or “I’m too old for this”), they’re more likely to avoid physical challenges. Avoiding challenges leads, over time, to actual physical deconditioning.

The deconditioning makes activities more difficult and potentially more painful, which reinforces avoidance. Socially, this often leads to isolation, which increases stress and depression risk. The resulting chronic stress triggers inflammatory responses and disrupts hormone regulation, accelerating biological aging in measurable ways. Team Strong Silvers demonstrates the opposite cycle. Their belief in continued adaptation and growth leads them to train harder (behavior). These workouts build actual physical strength and capability (biology), which reduces injury concerns (psychology) and encourages more training and involvement with their fitness community (social behavior).

This book shares how the power of belief can change your life. To stay updated on new discoveries since publication and access practical tools to help you apply what you learn, I’ve prepared bonus companion resources for you. Go to NirAndFar.com/belief-tools/. 1kitap1.com/en Also by Nir Eyal Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products 1kitap1.com/en 1kitap1.com/en Portfolio / Penguin An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019 penguinrandomhouse.com Copyright © 2026 by Sunshine Development LLC Penguin Random House values and supports copyright.

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PORTFOLIO and PORTFOLIO with javelin thrower design are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. Cover design: Brian Lemus book design by tanya maiboroda, adapted for ebook by estelle malmed library of congress cataloging-in-publication data Names: Eyal, Nir, author | Li, Julie (Contributor to Indistractable) Title: Beyond belief : the science-backed way to stop limiting yourself and achieve breakthrough results / Nir Eyal with Julie Li. Description: New York, NY : Portfolio/Penguin, [2026] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2025043394 (print) | LCCN 00024365589 (ebook) | ISBN 9780593852033 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780593852040 (ebook) | ISBN 9798217185061 (international edition) Subjects: LCSH: Self-actualization (Psychology) | Conduct of life Classification: LCC BF637.S4 E93 2026b (print) | LCC BF637.S4 (ebook) LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2025043394 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2025043395 Ebook ISBN 9780593852040 The authorized representative in the EU for product safety and compliance is Penguin Random House Ireland, Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street, Dublin D02 YH68, Ireland, https://eu- contact.penguin.ie.

prhid_prh_7.4a_155365185_c0_r0 1kitap1.com/en CONTENTS Dedication 1.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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