Why does schema dependencies fail?

The most common reason schema dependencies fails: Treating each schema as an independent, freestanding belief. When you ignore dependencies, you are surprised by cascading failures — one belief changes and suddenly a half-dozen others feel unstable, and you cannot understand why. You think you are having an identity crisis when you are actually experiencing a dependency chain propagating an update.

The fix: Pick one schema you hold strongly — a belief about your career, your relationships, or your capabilities. Ask: what must be true for this schema to hold? Write down three underlying beliefs it depends on. Then pick one of those and repeat: what must be true for that belief to hold? You have just mapped two levels of your dependency graph. Look at the deepest node. If that belief were shaken, how many of the beliefs above it would wobble?

The underlying principle is straightforward: Some schemas depend on others — map these dependencies to understand cascading effects.