CAMILA MENDES: "Perfectionism Was Ruining My Life"

Where this was said

The Power of Questioning Your Beliefs

At 30:10 · chapter starts 29:44

Jay observes a pattern he's seen everywhere: people cycle back to their roots as they age, redefining them rather than simply returning. Camila sees it in herself culturally and also spiritually. She grew up between a radical atheist father's side and a Catholic-turned-Spiritism mother's side, and landed firmly in teenage atheism — proudly, with Richard Dawkins on her nightstand. But years of therapy had helped her identify problems without resolving how she felt. She needed something more. She didn't even know it was spirituality she was craving. Then Hoffman gave her a form she could actually access: not organised religion, not a distant God, but a connection to her own highest self. 'Who is my highest self?' became her compass. That she describes as her version of God. It opened a door. She's not an atheist anymore, but she's not religious either — she just wants to believe in something and is okay with not knowing exactly what. Jay agrees that challenging your beliefs is terrifying but necessary, and that certainty in any belief system usually signals immaturity.