The Real Power Of Your Beliefs

You have thousands of beliefs, both positive and negative, that cause you to perceive and act in certain ways, in your business life as well as in your personal life.

The effects of your beliefs are not as abstract as you might think. You and I act in absolute accordance with what our internal beliefs are, and not with what we may want. We can override our beliefs temporarily using our will power, but I assure you that over the long haul the ‘internal’ image we have of our self will always win.

Let’s say you’re looking at a restaurant menu. You’ll make a decision and take action by ordering and eating the food that aligns with your beliefs about health and nutrition. The result of that decision will determine whether or not you’ll have an abundance of energy. It will determine, over a period of time, your exte
al appearance. It will also determine your internal health.

As you can see, one small decision affects a whole range of things. Choosing improperly for long periods is a sure-fire route to a mediocre life. What you must consider is whether or not your beliefs can get you to the destination of your dreams. It is critical to evaluate the results in your life and to understand the true underlying cause that is creating those results.

Break free from your past

Perhaps you’ve heard about how elephants are trained to stand tied to a tiny stake in the ground, which they could easily pull up simply by using their considerable strength against the restraint. When an elephant is young, the trainer uses a heavy chain with a shackle around the calf’s ankle, which causes painful sores when the baby elephant tries to move. Within a short period of time, the animal is conditioned to recognize that pulling equals pain. As the elephant matures, the trainer can use a weaker and weaker tether because the elephant won’t test it, until a simple rope tied to a tent stake will keep this five-ton animal from roaming.

It’s likely that many of the beliefs you have today are acting like that weak rope, perhaps holding you in place and preventing you from going where you want to be. That’s why people stay in relationships that aren’t working, keep a job they don’t like, continue neglecting their health, and so on. The good news is you can change. You can break free. You can choose your beliefs and therefore change your results.

*Consciously choosing what to believe, whether it’s about health, God, marriage, children, career, other people, or anything else gives those beliefs more weight, more meaning in your life.*

I chose to hold onto some of the beliefs I adopted when I was younger—being a risk-taker, trusting my instincts, believing in myself as a manager and even a visionary—and, of course, I decided to jettison those beliefs that were holding me back. Thinking I was not smart enough, that people didn’t like
me, and that I couldn’t trust anyone else were definitely not going to get me where I wanted to go. I realized, through the help of many mentors, that for anything in my life to change, I had to change. It works from the inside out, not from the outside in.

Ask yourself whether your most dearly held beliefs are serving you or not. Do they help you create the life of your dreams? Or do they limit you and the people you love? Remember that beliefs are like blinders for humans. They can be so powerful that they cause you to see only what’s in line with them. Yet they are not the Truth. They are just your perception of the truth, based on your past teachings, experiences, and evaluations.

You can choose to change any belief that is not helping you create the life you really want.