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The Impact of Beliefs
Your beliefs impact everything you do (and more importantly what you don’t do).
You may wonder what beliefs have to do with anything. They’re just thoughts after all, right?
Yes, beliefs are indeed thoughts, but they often determine your actions and reactions – and they have the power to hold you back from doing what will make you happy.
And beliefs are imbued with emotion, usually raw emotion of which you cannot easily control.
- Actions create beliefs.
- Beliefs trigger and loop with emotions.
- Emotions direct the body which our brain/mind reside.
- Thought sometimes comes into play to save us from the above.
Imagine that you have a belief that you don’t deserve to be happy and successful. Such a belief would cause you to nonconsciously sabotage any plans you make. Or more likely could cause you to not try at all because you believe it would be a waste of your time and energy.
…or worse, “try” once and fail so you know “it” doesn’t work.
How do you know if you have nonconscious beliefs that might be holding you back?
Here’s some help.
True or False
- When I don’t get paid what I’m worth, I ask for and typically get more.
- I find it easy to make substantial amounts of money.
- I encounter opportunities wherever I go. It’s hard to keep up w/ them all.
- I am completely in tune with my passions. I know exactly what I want.
- I am currently doing what I love and could happily do it forever.
- I am ready to tackle any challenges that I may face. Always do, always will.
- I feel fear and I control it by acting until I succeed and have for a long time.
It’s simple. Your beliefs and emotions are either driving you or you are choosing what you want with your prefrontal cortex. The two don’t go hand in hand very often.
NOW STOP.
This is where almost everyone quits. Are you going to be that everyone??
As soon as people feel that their mind needs to be running the show, that they are responsible for what is going to happen in their lives, they close the book, shut the door and go to bed.
Guilt is the appropriate feeling when someone does that.
Pride is the appropriate feeling when they keep reading.
Changing Existing Beliefs
OK, How do you change existing beliefs?
Obviously, acting in spite of your feelings and beliefs is the single most powerful tool you have.
The other happens in your mind.
You replace old beliefs and with more empowering beliefs.
Let’s use this statement as an example:
“I am ready to tackle any challenges that I may face.”
If, when you read that statement to yourself you feel uneasiness or dread, then you know you have a doubt about your ability to handle challenges. Your job is now to persuade, even coerce yourself that you DO have the ability to handle challenges.
Think back to any challenges you have faced in your lifetime. How did you handle them? Did you buckle down and do what needed to be done, or did you cave under the pressure? If you can recall even one challenge that you were able to handle and overcome, you have solid footing to change your belief!
You simply need to keep convincing yourself (sometimes hour by hour) that if you handled one challenge successfully, you can handle others.
And indeed that is a fact.
The more frequently and passionately you can reinforce this concept in your mind, the more quickly your underlying belief will change.
The more often you can ACT on the concept, the faster and deeper the emotions imbuing the new belief will be.
But what if you can’t recall any challenges you’ve overcome successfully in the past? Is it time to give up? Turn the page…
