What are you holding as truth?

We all hold on to some fundamental and contextual truths. They are helpful in guiding us through life.  Some are helpful, others less so.  This episode explore many aspects of this deep and generative question. 

Transcript

What are you holding as truth?

Hello and welcome to the Powerful Questions podcast. My name is David Shaked. If you have been listening to my podcast before, you probably know that it started as a space to explore transformative and generative questions that can change how we think, lead, and grow. In this episode, I’m going to introduce a question that has the potential to unlock new perspectives and break through some beliefs we might be holding which are driving our choices. Often, we’re not even aware of them.  The powerful question for today is: "What are you holding as truth?"

All of us, as human beings, hold certain truths deep inside. The question “What are you holding as truth?” creates an opportunity for profound self-examination. Truths are things we actively grasp, sometimes without conscious awareness. They drive our choices, our actions, our interactions and our relationships with others. It is similar to asking "What do you believe?" but goes much deeper.  “What do you believe in” is typically answered by surface-level or well-rehearsed responses. "What are you holding as truth?" invites us to go deeper.  

The word "holding" is significant here. We hold truths like we hold postures—they shape how we move through the world, but we can also adjust them if we become aware of their limitations. Many of these truths were formed early in our lives or careers, were handed to us by family members or authority figures, or were constructed from past experiences that may no longer be relevant.

When we ask ourselves or someone else "What are you holding as truth?", we're inviting ourselves or the other person to bring these unconscious foundations to the light where they can be more visible, evaluated, validated, or gently released if they no longer serve. What makes this question particularly powerful is its ability to operate at multiple levels simultaneously. It's both gentle and profound—it doesn't attack someone's beliefs; it invites curiosity about them.

It is also a generative question because it creates the space for new possibilities to emerge. When we are able to identify what we're holding as truth, we can see more clearly the edges of our thinking—This is precisely where innovation happens and fresh perspectives emerge.

Cognitive psychology helped us in understanding that our beliefs shape our perceptions. We don't see reality directly; we see it through filters we have constructed from our experiences, education, and cultural background. "What are you holding as truth?" is an invitation to recognize these filters and potentially adjust them. 

We also now know from neuroscience that our brains are essentially prediction machines—they constantly use past experiences to anticipate what comes next. This helps, by creating efficiency, but also means we tend to find and focus on evidence that confirms what we already believe. Researchers call this phenomenon the confirmation bias.

When we ask "What are you holding as truth?", we interrupt the brain's automatic filtering process. We create a moment of metacognition which means—thinking about our thinking. This momentary pause creates space for new neural connections to form. It also activates a different part of our brain, one that is more creative rather than reactive, to drive our responses.  It's literally a brain-changing question when engaged with deeply.

To give you an example, for many years, I have held a truth that "conflict is dangerous and should be avoided." It has guided many choices I have made and my reactions in situations of conflict.  I really tried to avoid conflicts, and as soon as I could see some tension arising and the potential for conflict between me and someone else, I would agree with the other person or change the subject.  This belief led me to avoiding important discussions, to challenging things I should have, or to raising and negotiating  certain changes I wanted to see happening. It also meant that issues festered beneath the surface and continued to affect me for longer. Interestingly, it’s only when I became aware of what I held as truth that I could see some alternative perspectives.  I could see that in certain situations, conflict can be productive, perhaps even energising or life-giving. It can lead to deeper discussion, respect, and stronger relationships—which ultimately generate better outcomes.

The power of this question lies in how it separates us from our beliefs just enough to examine them. It makes the invisible visible.

So where might this question be useful? Actually, there are many situations where posing the question to yourself or to others can be helpful. Before I mention anything about using it with others, I'd like to start with using it on ourselves. 

“What am I holding as truth here, at this moment?” is an incredibly powerful version of this question. I try to allocate some time for self-reflection and ask myself this question when I feel some uncertainty about something, a decision I need to make, or when I have to navigate a new situation that seems unfamiliar. Writing down some of the thoughts that come to mind is helpful because it makes these thoughts more concrete and gives a better chance of exploring them.  Once you have written down a few such truths about the situation, some useful follow-up questions could be: 

“Where, when or from whom, did I gain this truth?” 

“Who does this truth belong to? Does it belong to me? Does it belong to someone else? Does it belong to something else?”

“Is there a more helpful point of view I could adopt here, now?”

Of course, once you have experienced this kind of inquiry on yourself, you’ll know how useful it can be.  Here are some other options for the question:

Using it in 1-on-1 Coaching—In coaching conversations, "What are you holding as truth about your situation or challenge?" creates a pivotal moment of awareness. So many coachees I work with struggle to manage their boundaries or commitments to others.   When I ask them this question, they often realise they are holding the idea that saying “no” to a request from their boss, their client, or their colleague can damage their career or performance as an overarching truth. This belief, which is often formed at the early stages of our careers or even in childhood, is preventing many people I coach from managing their boundaries more effectively and pursuing their true priorities.  The truths we are holding are just beliefs – other, more empowering beliefs can replace them once we are aware of them.

It is important to keep a non-judgmental frame when using this question with others. Essentially, we come with the assumption that holding ANY truth is natural and human, not wrong or a mistake. When we use it in a non-judgemental way, we create psychological safety for honest exploration rather than defensiveness.

Similarly, leaders often operate with unexamined truths about their organization, team capabilities, or their own leadership style. These truths may have been adopted in the past, perhaps even in a completely different context—probably because they were helpful at the time. However, they can become blind spots that limit effectiveness.

If you’re working with leaders on developing their leadership style or impact, it can be very illuminating to explore with them what truths are they holding at different levels—about themselves, about others they work with (colleagues, teams, bosses), about their organisation, about their clients or even the market they are operating in. These questions can help leaders distinguish between facts and interpretations, between market realities, and their beliefs about what's possible. It's particularly valuable in times of strategic transformation when old assumptions may no longer apply.

Another powerful way to use this question is when working on change or development with more than one person or at a larger scale – for example, a leadership team, a business unit or a whole organisation.  Teams or organisations develop “collective truths" that become embedded in their culture. They evolve into a set of unspoken rules and assumptions that everyone follows without question. Even new joiners adopt them quickly. These might include truths such as: "Our product has to be the cheapest—or the best” or "we must have the best technology".

"What are we holding as truth?" can transform A team, or project-related and strategic discussions by bringing to light these collective assumptions. The shared beliefs that are held by groups of people or whole organisations can truly limit their creative thinking and result in a sense of resignation or avoidance in challenging times that call for change.

Now, this line of inquiry is very powerful  but like any other powerful question it may not be appropriate in every situation. It requires certain conditions to be effective:

First, timing matters. In crisis situations that require immediate action, deep reflective questions like this one may not be helpful. When someone feels under extreme stress, overwhelmed, anxious, or emotionally flooded, or when a team is in the middle of a challenging product launch, they are unlikely to have access to the cognitive resources required for this type of reflection. That means it would not be the time to examine foundational beliefs—focus on grounding or stabilising the group or the situation or on taking action first, and allow time for reflection later.

Second, psychological safety is essential for any deep exploration like this one. This question invites people to be vulnerable about their deeply held truths. Without trust in their relationship with you or their environment, it may trigger defensiveness rather than openness.

Cultural context also matters. In some cultures, direct questioning such as “what are you holding as truth” may be perceived as confrontational or disrespectful, particularly in groups or hierarchical settings. Adapt your approach or style of questioning to the culture of those you are working with.

The impact of this question can be enhanced even further by tailoring it to different thinking styles and contexts:

For analytical thinkers, you can frame it as an exploration of the facts, data, or evidence they might be holding on to. "What conclusions have you drawn from your experience and the information you have, and what might you be missing?" This can appeal to their appreciation of logical fact-based thinking.

With action-oriented people, you can connect reflection to results. "Which of your held truths might be limiting your effectiveness?" This creates a pragmatic bridge between insight and application.

In group settings, it is important to prevent groupthink by allowing time for silent reflection before sharing. You might ask everyone to write down what they're holding as truth about the topic at hand before inviting a discussion. This prevents the first (often the most vocal) person from overly influencing everyone else's thinking. You could also refrain from first asking the most senior or most vocal person in the room for their truth and instead start with a more junior person, a new member or a quieter member of the group.

Some people may need to start with a narrower focus for such a question rather than a broader or fully open approach.  When working with such people, start with "What are you holding as truth about this specific project or topic?" because it will be easier for them to respond to than examining wider or deeply held personal truth.

Of course, like any powerful question, there are different versions and ways to phrase it that may work better with different people.  "What are you holding as truth?" has a particular resonance, but there are several variations that can achieve similar outcomes or enable people to explore different aspects of the same context:

"What assumptions are you making that you haven't tested?" may appeal to those who like to experiment, gather data and prefer evidence-based thinking.

"Which of your beliefs would be most painful to discover is actually untrue?" targets the beliefs that might have the strongest emotional investment and therefore, once they are examined and released, lead to the greatest impact. If you wish to ask it in a more strength-based approach, why not ask:  “Which of your beliefs would set you free if you found out it wasn’t true?”

"What truths or points of view are you most committed to defending?" helps identify where someone might have the strongest attachment to a particular perspective.

"If your truth was indeed 100% right (or even 100% wrong), how would you know?" This version encourages us to look for specific signs or cues to strengthen or dispel our truths. 

"If this truth wasn’t actually true, what would you believe in instead?" This question opens the door to alternative perspectives and expand possibilities.

"What unspoken rules are driving your approach here?" helps surface the implicit guidelines someone has created for themselves or inherited from others.

Each variation has its own flavour and might be more effective in different contexts or with different individuals.

You may be curious about how you might let go of such truths if you realise they no longer help you or the situation.  Quite often just bringing these truths to light helps lessen their power over you, but another way is to realise any truth is just a point of view.  When I become aware of a truth I hold on to unnecessarily, I like to declare out loud “what an interesting point of view!” which is an appreciative approach to what I have just discovered about myself.  After a few seconds I ask myself “what other points of view are possible or useful here?”

Before we close this episode, I'd like to offer you a reflective exercise you can try after listening to this episode.

Take fifteen minutes with a piece of paper or your journal.  Start by identifying three "truths" you hold—one about yourself, one about your work, and one about a key relationship in your life. Write them down.

For each of them, explore:  Where did this truth come from? Was it directly taught or delivered to me by someone else? Was it shaped or implied by experience? Or perhaps have I just assumed it somehow without examination?

How does this truth serve me? What benefits does it provide?

In what ways might this truth hold me back? Suppose this truth somehow disappeared, what might become possible?

If this truth weren’t entirely true, what alternative perspectives might be equally valid?

This exercise is not meant to drive you to reject your current truths but simply to expand your awareness of them and their impact. Often, by just recognising what we're holding as truth, we create space for growth and new possibilities.

"What are you holding as truth?" is another deceptively simple yet profoundly generative and powerful question. It honours the fact that our beliefs have served us in some ways while inviting us to reflect on whether they still do. It doesn't attack or dismiss our perspectives but gently helps us see them as perspectives rather than absolute realities.

The magic of this question lies in creating possibilities without forcing change. When we recognise what we've been holding as truth, we gain the freedom to hold it more lightly or completely release it if we choose.  It’s a question that gives us access to the operating system behind our thoughts and behaviours.  By bringing awareness to what we've accepted so far without question, we open doorways to new insights, innovations, and ways of being.

I'd love to hear how this powerful question resonates with you. What truths did you discover you've been holding? How did that awareness shift your perspective? Please get in touch and share your experiences with me. Until my next episode, keep asking powerful questions!