by Che Garman
At the root of every thing we think, say, do, and have, is one word… beliefs. Not religious beliefs, but the specific, personal beliefs that we have acquired throughout our life.
Our beliefs create our life! Our beliefs dictate our attitudes - as well as our emotional and behavioral reactions - to everything we experience in life.
Because of the way the subconscious mind works, everything we experience will automatically:
- be seen from the perspective of our personal core beliefs
- be accepted or rejected according to these core beliefs
- generate emotions which support these beliefs
- initiate an appropriate attitude - both mental (thoughts, memories, mood) and physical (facial gesture, posture, body language) - which reflects these beliefs
- trigger an appropriate behaviour and/or reaction which is most consistent with all of the above
The only way we can affect this automatic, subconscious process is to make a conscious effort to do one of the following:
- interrupt the process by monitoring our emotions and thoughts, and intentionally replace anything negative with something more positive
- change the root problem – the core belief - so that a new pattern is automatically created
The first method can work, but it is virtually impossible to monitor all our thoughts. And even if it were possible to do, we would still need to replace the negative thoughts with positive ones, which would require dedicated time and patience every day.
If we attempt to change our life by focusing on controlling unwanted emotions, we only frustrate the situation. The core beliefs will still be there, and will continue to bring about the negative emotions every time a similar situation occurs.
Changing the root problem – the negative core belief – is the only way to establish permanent change in one’s life.
Once the core belief is changed, improvement follows as a matter of course. The subconscious mind no longer activates old negative thinking patterns. New neurotransmitters are released which dictate the emotions we experience. Attitudes towards ourselves and the outside world are automatically improved. And our automatic reactions and behaviours now reflect the positive core belief that has been reprogrammed into the subconscious mind.
"Change your beliefs and your whole world changes."
So where do we start? We all have thousands of core beliefs that we have been assimilating since day one. Initially, these beliefs were unintentional – that is, we acquired them from our immediate environment. Many of our beliefs reflect what we learned as children. Many have been assimilated from personal experience. And some have been intentionally created through conscious, rational thought.
If we attempt to change our life by focusing on controlling unwanted emotions, we only frustrate the situation. The core beliefs will still be there, and will continue to bring about the negative emotions every time a similar situation occurs.
Changing the root problem – the negative core belief – is the only way to establish permanent change in one’s life.
Once the core belief is changed, improvement follows as a matter of course. The subconscious mind no longer activates old negative thinking patterns. New neurotransmitters are released which dictate the emotions we experience. Attitudes towards ourselves and the outside world are automatically improved. And our automatic reactions and behaviours now reflect the positive core belief that has been reprogrammed into the subconscious mind.
"Change your beliefs and your whole world changes."
So where do we start? We all have thousands of core beliefs that we have been assimilating since day one. Initially, these beliefs were unintentional – that is, we acquired them from our immediate environment. Many of our beliefs reflect what we learned as children. Many have been assimilated from personal experience. And some have been intentionally created through conscious, rational thought.
You may already be aware of some of your limiting beliefs, but it is unlikely that you would be able to identify them all. This makes changing our beliefs a rather daunting task. But there is another way to go about it.
In a relatively short period of time, one can create a list of positive beliefs, and work from there. Perhaps some of these beliefs may already be part of your subconscious program, but it never hurts to strengthen them.
How to determine which beliefs need to be changed
If you check out Which Beliefs are Holding You Back?, you will find a list of belief concepts with three typical affirmations for each. A good way to tell if you need to work on a particular belief is to say the affirmation to yourself, and then pay close attention to how this makes you feel. If this is a belief that you hold to be true, you will feel comfortable saying the affirmation. But if the affirmation makes you feel uncomfortable, you will know there’s room for improvement.
