We all know that nothing is impossible but what are you doing about that fact? How does that change how you choose to live you life everyday? Here’s what I’m really asking. How does that impact the goals you set and the outcomes you create? And we before we jump into this I wanna say this
If this reality doesn’t change what you do, how big you dream, or the types of goals you pursue then the simple fact is you don’t believe it. And here’s why I say that.
As humans we live into our beliefs. This means when we see something as true we naturally align with it. So here’s an example if I believe that my body is worth taking care of I will do my best to take care of it. Including eating well, exercising, taking breaks from work, pacing myself, and so on.
And on the flip side, if I saw my life as being here today and gone tomorrow I would squader my time, waste money on frivolous things, live for the sole purpose of enjoying whatever brings me pleasure, form unhealthy addictions and work to make money until the day I die because “YOLO!” (you only right once)! Right? I don’t think so but here’s the point.
Our Beliefs Shape Our Lives
Tony Robbins said “all personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs” So before we go any further I wanna make sure we’re on the same page when we talk about beliefs.
What Is A Belief?
Based on neuroscience which is the scientific study of the nervous system that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developmental biology, cytology, computer science, and mathematical modeling to understand the fundamental and emergent properties of neurons and neural circuits (this is basically the study of the mind and brain)
Neurons and neural circuits are basically the things in our mind that help us automate our thoughts which becomes subconscious and produces habits and patterns in way we think.
This is the most basic breakdown. If you want a deep dive you can do a quick search on Youtube. There is so much great information out there about neuroscience and the study of the mind!
Based on neuroscience a belief is ultimately an idea we hold as true, something we choose to believe in and there are two primary types of beliefs.
1. A meaning belief
2. A cause and effect belief
What Is A Meaning Belief?
A meaning belief reveals how we define things. It looks like this:
- This is that
- A=B
- This means that
Here are a few examples:
- Achieving my goals is hard.
Achieving goals = hard. - Discovering my purpose is impossible.
To know my purpose = impossible - Getting ahead in life takes too long
getting ahead = too long
Hit play and I’ll walk you through a few exercises on how to identify your beliefs and how to create healthy, productive, ones based on truth.
But here’s something to consider, how inspired do you feel to pursue your goals while holding onto these beliefs? And how likely are you to actually achieve them?
What Is A Cause & Effect Belief?
These beliefs reveal what we see as the cause and effect in our life. There are true, healthy beliefs that work and there are others that lead to frustrations. They sound like this:
- If I try to pursue my goals I will fail
- I don’t have time therefore I can’t get started
- Life is hard so I can’t focus on my goals right now
These are all beliefs based on feelings, assumptions, and so on. The way we know they are not true is because if they were they would be universally true for everyone.
Beliefs Vs Truth
Universal truths are what we call principles. Anyone anywhere will have the same experience when applying the same process to create a result. A great example of this is gravity!
No matter where you go in the world you will experience gravity because it’s not limited to a specific geographic location, people who are at a specific income level, people of a certain race, age, etc. It is a universal experience we all get from day one.
So when we tell ourselves things like “because I have kids I don’t have time to work on my goals” or “because of the work I don’t have the energy to work towards my goals” we are creating excuses that help us to feel good about our procrastination and avoidance which turns into beliefs and help us to stay unproductive and feeling stuck.
So How Do We Recognize & Bust These Beliefs?
Now that we know what beliefs are and how the ineffective ones help us sabotage our progress and work against what we truly want I’m sure you’re probably asking yourself “how do I recognize and replace these beliefs?” so I’ll give you 2 simple things to start with and keep in mind simple doesn’t mean easy. Here’s the first one.
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What causes you to believe this? Why do you think this is true?
An easy way to recognize a belief is to get clear on what causes you to believe it and what benefit you get from holding on to it. To walk you through it, think of one of your biggest, most repetitive ideas or a recurring belief that you know is holding you back but you haven’t addressed it.
You got one? If not hit pause and let the first idea that comes up for you be the belief that we work on.
Now with that belief in mind, what is it about this idea that causes you to believe it’s true? Is it because you heard your best friend say this is how it is? Or did you learn it from someone in a movie?
It’s so subtle how our beliefs are formed because most of it happens without our awareness. We are not present. We have an automatic filter in our mind that processes information based on beliefs that we already have.
So if we think that achieving our goals is hard then no matter how much advice, conversations you have, or articles you read about how easy goal achievement can be you will continue to believe at your core that goal achievement is hard.
So for the belief you have in mind do you keep it because it’s comfortable? Does it feel familiar? Is it what you’ve been believing for the last 5 years? What benefits do you get from it?
Find The Benefit For Your Belief
I know upfront you’re probably going to say, “there is no gain, I don’t benefit from thinking like this and I know it” but as humans our brains are like computers and doesn’t hold on to anything that is not useful or beneficial for us. So there is a some level of gain we get from all the beliefs we hold.
It could be that this belief allows you to avoid taking full responsibility for your life, it could help you feel comfortable making excuses and playing small, and so on. There are so many reasons why we hold on to beliefs that aren’t good for us so take this time to really think about it and do the work!
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Don’t believe everything you think
Something I am constantly asking myself when I read books, listen to podcasts, listen to my friends and family talk is “is this actually true?”
Does it happen this way for everyone or is it a story I made up or picked up from others? Is it a universal principle? Here’s a quick breakdown for how to do this.
If your belief is that it is hard to achieve my long-term goals. Here’s what you can ask yourself.
- Is it hard for everyone to achieve their goals?
- Has there ever been in time in my life when achieving my goal felt easy?
- If so, you know that “achieving my goals is hard” can’t be true.
Here Are The Facts
Most of the time in our communication, we share information that is based on assumptions, opinions, and selective perspectives, but not based on truth. So instead of believing everything people say practice asking questions!
When it comes to my own thoughts and things I think about myself, others, the world, life, goals, etc I take myself through the same process I walked you through here! To get the full experience hit play and let’s do the work together!
Until next week, I love you and I mean it! Stop dreaming, start doing.
