What is the difference between a belief and a conviction?

To believe in something is to ascribe a large degree of personal meaning and import to it. However, the nature of this belief is generally adaptable as life and experience alter ones overall view and understanding of the world. To be convinced of something is to accept it as absolute, immutable truth in such a way that there is no room for new information to expand or alter the conviction. It is not adaptable to overall changes in the way one sees the world as life progresses.

So, a belief can be translated into different situations and circumstances, bending without breaking, like a reed in the wind. A conviction, however, forces you to interpret all information by its precepts, imposing upon you the need to accept or reject new information based solely upon whether or not it supports the conviction. A conviction can sometimes be shattered by the inexorable weight of reality, usually along with the mental state of the one who holds it.

The former can be a great boon to ones personal development, as it provides a framework within which ones understanding of experiences and the world at large may be developed. This framework bends, adapts, grows and evolves as new information enters in, which over time strengthens the framework, allowing it to support and sustain ever more diverse experiences and understandings. The latter, however, is a bane to ones personal development because it only permits one to see a very limited view of reality, wherein new information is often rejected and the paradigm shifts necessary for personal development are vehemently repelled. This sets one forever at odds with new experiences and those who look, think and live in ways that do not conform with the conviction.