This Week's Inspiration
You Are and Have What You Believe!
Beliefs:
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A state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing; something believed especially: A tenet or body of tenets held by a group; conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon |
You Are and Have What You Believe!
- Have you ever wondered why you believe what you believe?
- Have you examined the way your beliefs are shaping your life, your choices, and your outcomes?
- Have your beliefs hindered your progress in life? (As noted in Living On Purpose 135, excuses can fall into the "belief" category.)
- When is the last time you validated some of your belief positions?
When I recently reviewed the more than 400 articles I have written over the past 20 years, I noted that a very high percentage of them are about our attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors—which are all driven by our beliefs.
Where did we get our beliefs?
We learn them through our life experiences and interactions with others—and we confirm or modify them through our responses to situations.
A well-known author and coach was conducting a counseling session with a gentleman. He asked the man why he thought and acted the way he did. The man's immediate reason was his family background, mostly his mother. She was the one to blame because she caused the majority of his suffering. Pondering his client's comments, the author said, "Well, let's go find your mother."
The confused client wondered why the counselor wanted to do that.
Here is the professional's brilliant response.
"You said your mother is the reason you have all these problems and it's her fault you are the way you are—a screw-up is what you said, right!? Given your belief, the only way to fix this is to change your mother first; then she will be able to affect you in a positive way and improve your life. It's obvious she needs the counseling, not you!"
That gentleman was choosing to believe that his mother's influence controlled his future—and his own beliefs were perpetuating that myth. His mother's actions were not really limiting his life.
Many individuals live with the belief position that their past has anchored their future. Where did that belief originate? Oddly, many times a professional HR person helps provide excuses and reasons to people so they can stay stuck. That ill-guided approach perpetuates the victim mentality.
Here are a few other beliefs that bind freedom of choice and action.
- I got this illness because of my genes and my family heritage.
That belief is 97% false! A recent research project revealed that less than 3% of health conditions have any foundation in family genetics. Who started that belief system? Maybe someone needed an excuse for his unhealthy condition.
- Being overweight runs in my family; I just can't seem to overcome it.
Not true. The cause is your choices and what you believe.
- I got this way over the past 20 years. It will take that long to correct it.
Who says? The reality is we can all change very quickly—almost in an instant—to reverse the negative effects of our belief system.
- It is hard to change.
It's easy to change if you really want to do it.
- Life is hard.
When you are living on purpose, life is suddenly easier!
Studies using the placebo effect help prove a point about beliefs. One group of people gets the new drug and the other group gets sugar pills. The participants do not know which is which.
A surgeon took this one step further and conducted a study on knee surgery patients. One group had the standard operation that entailed scraping and cartilage removal. The other group simply had incisions, then stitches. No work was done on their knees but they believed they had had knee surgery.
Two years later, the progress of the two groups was examined. The members of the group that did not have actual knee surgery—but believed they had—were faring far better than those who had had the surgery.
Your beliefs—whatever what they are—create your results in life.
I want everyone to know I am writing this because I need to continue to upgrade my beliefs along with everyone else. It does not matter what our beliefs are. It is essential that we all own, confirm, and adjust or challenge them on a regular basis.
When we think hindering thoughts, our actions begin to support our beliefs. Just last week, I was reviewing an internal project. One of our books needs to be completely rewritten and revised. My first thoughts (beliefs) were that it will take a long time and it will not be easy. Because I believed that, what did I do? Nothing. I avoided the work!
I had to ask myself where did I get those negative beliefs?
In the past, I have mentioned that my Grade 9 English teacher said I would never amount to anything because I could not write, spell, or read well.
But
- I have written close to 3 million words in the last 20 years; and
- I write, with ease, every CRG ezine in under 3 hours.
I saw that my position about writing a book was stuck in my old beliefs about my writing skills.
I have replaced my old beliefs that it will take a long time and it will be difficult to write my book with these newly minted convictions: Writing a book about which I am passionate and knowledgeable will be quick; it will be an easy, fulfilling, and enjoyable process!
What about you?
Do you have beliefs that limit you?
Once you have culled your restrictive beliefs, plant something in their place or the weeds will return. We can all reframe a situation to embrace beliefs that are supportive and positive.
- Do you believe you have a purpose in this life?
- Are you confident you can achieve what you think about?
To help you on your journey to confirm your beliefs and purpose in all areas in your life, I recommend my 88-page workbook, My Source EXPERIENCE Journal™. It will take you on a personal discovery that will assist you to confirm and affirm your passions in life.
As building blocks, I also suggest CRG's Values Preference Indicator, Self-Worth Inventory, Stress Indicator and Health Planner, and the Personal Style Indicator.
To help you establish and confirm the beliefs you really want, follow these Action Steps and complete the recommended resources.
This Week's Action Steps
You Are and Have What You Believe!
- Whether you realize it, your beliefs have brought you what you have in life.
- Take some time to think carefully about all the beliefs you embrace and engage in your life every day. Start making a list of your beliefs. Please don't start with the belief that you don't have enough time for this activity.
- Are there beliefs you need to renovate? Challenge even seemingly harmless beliefs such as it took years to get this way, so it will take years to reverse the damage and behavior.
- Reflect on these thoughts: If you couldn't apply your excuses and your limiting beliefs, how would your life look? What new choices would you make? Others have framed it this way: If you knew you would not fail and you would be successful, what choices would you make? Are those choices different than what you are doing now? List everything you would change.
- When we cull hindering beliefs, we must replace them with new beliefs that are positive. Remember, upgrading your beliefs is easy and rewarding—and will be life-changing for you.
- You always have a choice, whether or not you acknowledge it. Start making choices based on your purpose and your current preferences, not on what someone else told you to think or become. To help you get clearer on your passion, calling, or purpose, I encourage you to engage the process outlined step-by-step in My Source EXPERIENCE Journal™ – A Personal Discovery Process for Those Who Want to Lead a Passionate and Fulfilling Life.
- Benchmark your gifts, talents, and preferences by using CRG assessments. Your results will assist you to establish your beliefs with confidence and clarity. As part of the clarification process, we recommend four specific assessments.
- To identify your natural preferences and strengths, complete the Personal Style Indicator (PSI). If you are heading into self-employment, complete the Entrepreneurial Style and Success Indicator, instead of the PSI.
- To clarify your core values, complete the Values Preference Indicator.
- To understand how your level of self-worth is affecting your success, complete the Self-Worth Inventory.
- Finally, to determine how your lifestyle is influencing your stress and wellness levels, complete the Stress Indicator and Health Planner.
- In almost every article, I mention the power of affiliation. It can be positive or negative. Think about the individuals around you, personally and professionally. Do the people in your inner circle exhibit beliefs you want to embrace or are they negative? When you spend time with negative folks, it's a real challenge to maintain a positive attitude.
- To realize your full potential, one of the most important areas to confirm is your spiritual belief. For an outline of the key considerations on the subject, please review my Living On Purpose ezine129, "Can You Know The Truth About Your Spirituality?."
- Imagine this very moment that you have thrown away all your crutches and your negative beliefs and that you are building a more dynamic and fulfilling life based on new choices. In your mind, look into the future to see yourself succeeding in whatever you have been called to be or do. How does it feel? Pretty amazing, right!? That's what everyone reading this ezine deserves. Guilt and self-destruction have no place here.
- You each have a purpose. Don't let limiting beliefs hinder your enjoyment of the precious life you have been given.
Until next time, keep Living On Purpose!
Ken Keis
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