If you are unwilling to question what you believe you will never know if you are following your truth or someone else’s lies.
In this blog, the word belief is not limited to religious beliefs. It rather points to the far wider collection of beliefs that inform how we live our lives each and every single day – how we make decisions, how we see ourselves and others, why we react as we do to specific situations or why we do the same things over and over even when they no longer serve us.
where do beliefs come from?
Beliefs are extremely powerful. Make sure you question yours often since they only allow what we deem credible into our worldview while keeping out everything else.
When last did you stop for long enough to ask yourself the questions – what do I truly believe, why do I believe this and how are these beliefs impacting my life and my future?
Your emotions are nothing but the spokesperson for your belief system. Unpacking your emotions will often point to the source – your beliefs. Not all beliefs are limiting. Some are, and unfortunately often these “few” limiting beliefs have a huge impact on your life.
You may believe that if someone loves you they should behave in a certain way and when they don’t you experience hurt. This has nothing to do with the other person but rather points to a belief you have which causes you to experience feeling hurt when the belief is not met. Could it be possible that someone can love you without meeting your expectations?
Your beliefs are largely informed by authority figures, parents, religious figures, peer groups, personal experience, etc. As mentioned, not all beliefs are limiting and certain beliefs can play an important role in providing purpose and a sense of belonging.
If you had to list 10 things you believe about yourself e.g. I am intelligent, I am not strong enough, I don’t deserve to be happy, I am loved or unloved, etc, could you unpack where each of those beliefs came from? I would strongly recommend you make the list. If you dare risk being 100% honest with yourself, it will definitely be well worth it.
Have you ever intentionally chosen your beliefs from a set of possible beliefs? Will questioning your beliefs result in any of them being found wanting and no longer serving the adult version of you? What would this open up for you? What could become possible if you believed 100% that you were capable of living the life you dream of?
the role of beliefs in our everyday lives
Beliefs provide stability in our lives by compartmentalising everything in order to make sense of the world. The same compartmentalisation could, however, become a virtual prison if left unchecked as we move from childhood into adulthood.
Our beliefs tell us who we are. They mark our place in the social world. They anchor us to places, situations, and events across our lifetimes. While our beliefs generally serve us well, they can also be vulnerable to error and distortion.
The good news is, however, that we can change our beliefs should we find that they no longer serve us. Change and the fear of change is unfortunately where we often face our biggest challenge. What would I have to let go of? Who would I possibly need to forgive? What anger and resentment could be released,? What risks should I be taking? Who would I blame? These are some questions that may show up and spending time with them could be liberating.
Saying that change is hard is often the disempowering belief that encourages resistance to change.
Far too often people are velcroed to their known and familiar beliefs, even when these beliefs limit their lives, their possibilities and their ability to thrive. Somehow changing their beliefs to enable thriving rather than merely surviving is a mountain too high to climb, resulting in most people clinging to the familiarity of the prison cell.
Carl Jung said that “who looks inside awakens”. He went on to state that “if you’re like most people, you probably have a decent idea about your own desires, values, beliefs, and opinions. You have a personal code that you choose to follow that dictates whether you are being a “good” person. If there is any one thing you can know in this universe, surely it is who you are. But what if you are wrong?”
What if most of what you believe are simply beliefs that you have inherited from people who too, inherited theirs from people; people who don’t really know who the people are they inherited theirs from and yet you have never questioned these beliefs for yourself. Technology is evolving at an unprecedented pace and we adapt and adjust by the minute. Science is changing how we see the world and our physical bodies by the minute, yet we seldom allow anyone or anything to challenge our beliefs; defending them as if we were physically at risk.
What could become possible in your life if you simply took the time to challenge even just one of your limiting beliefs? What becomes possible if you believe that you CAN, that you deserve all the joy in the world, that you are amazing and that everything is not someone else’s fault, that there is no conspiracy theory at play conspiring against your dreams, other than you, and what you believe to be possible, or not?
Risk a belief adjustment
Nothing outside of you has the power to change you. All change comes from within – from what you have chosen to believe.
People once believed that the world was flat, that women practicing healing with plants were witches, that women should not vote and that boys don’t cry. Imagine if these beliefs were never challenged?
The beliefs you choose inform your thoughts and the words you use. The words you use are the tools you use to paint the canvas of your life. If the picture is not resonating with you, change your tools and your words. To change your words you need to change your thoughts and this requires starting at the beginning and investigating your beliefs.
The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working.