Like iron cuts iron, there exists something like this in the realm of psychology, as we are full of psychological abstractions and our inferences are based on these inner abstractions. Sometimes, it is these very abstractions that needs cutting, and in this place, what one needs is abstraction to cut abstraction.

These ideas are often expressed through philosophy, biographies, and aphoristic novels. I came to this realization myself while going through 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra'. It made sense, as if someone was making me think about what I had been thinking and what I was composed of. The concept of Nietzsche’s Metamorphosis (camel, lion, and child) really stands out.

If you have never questioned your abstract composition, you have a linear view of how the world around you works. You are guided by accumulated beliefs.

We are all superstitious in our own way. Often, we create our own superstitious beliefs based on what we observed while growing up. We may have adopted the belief systems of our upbringing; fears of our parents became our own, fears of society became ours, the praise of society became ours, and its ideals became ours. We inherited these defaults simply by observing, and as children, these impressions settled deep into our subconscious.

Few people help us question this. These beliefs remain unchallenged. We might believe in fate, or that things happen “in their own time,” accepting irrational ideas as normal.

Sometimes these beliefs need to be thrown out to see a clear picture. But unless something challenges us or we feel burdened, we might never question them. Questioning often becomes a supposedly sinful act itself.

Nietzsche laid out three phases of self overcoming: The Camel, The Lion, and The Child.

The camel symbolizes a self or soul heavily burdened by its own weight, carrying the weight of thoughts, abstractions, beliefs, and fairy tales that have been absorbed over time. The camel lives in search of proof to validate these ideas, but the soul has become confused by lies and fabricated concepts. At this point, one no longer knows what truth really is and suffers from the conflict between reality and fantasy. Carrying this heavy load, one feels restricted, unaware that the answers actually lie within their own beliefs.

To free yourself, you have to take steps. The first part is realization. One has to realize that the cause is within.

Once a person realizes they are burdened by their own weight, the next step is to enter the lion stage. Here, one confronts the abstractions they carry, testing the authenticity of their belief systems and tracing them back to their origins. Moral sense and external authority must be questioned and judged for what they truly are, not for the identity they present.

The goal is to seek truth without looking through the polarizing lens of good or bad. These moral categories can sometimes hide what needs to be seen clearly.

You must release old imprints and make room for something new. In this stage, you create a fresh foundation for your values, discarding anything untrue or adopted without conscious choice or reasoning.

The self at the lion stage might battle nihilism because it has let go of something that constituted the origin of meaning. Now one needs to overcome that as well. This can be done by incorporating truth, seeking it, and living by it. This is where the child begins.

The child is free of imposed beliefs, like a newborn learning from scratch. But unlike a real child, this child has the ability to judge harshly. It can see through lies, superstitions, irrational fears, and false identities. This stage symbolizes the spirit that has overcome traditional constraints and nihilism, and is ready to affirm life in a creative, self-determined way.

This self now can rewrite its own mental framework endlessly. It can reinvent itself again and again.