WHAT ARE BELIEF SYSTEMS?

These are the beliefs you hold that help you make sense of the world and live in it effectively. We have shared belief systems as a society such as beliefs around the way the world works. Some of these are positive and they help protect us emotionally and psychologically. They help us to move through the world successfully. E.g. we believe we should be polite to each other in order to live together harmoniously.

PERSONAL BELIEFS

But we are talking about your personal beliefs.  These are your most deeply held assumptions about yourself, the world, and others. These beliefs are often so embedded in your psyche that you are not even aware of them.    AND YET these the very ones that drive your intentional activity.

INTENTIONAL ACTIVITY

Your intentional activity is your thoughts, your feelings and your behaviour. They steer your viewpoints, values and principles So your beliefs are what create your reality!

THE very LENS by which YOU view the world.

These beliefs are personal to you because they were mainly developed during your childhood when you were learning about the world.  That’s when you look to your parents to begin with, to help you make sense of the world.  Then your peers and teachers influence you. As you go along, your experiences and your interpretation of those experiences add to the mix.   All of these things are unique to you and create your very own belief system.

This explains how two people can experience the very  same thing but see and think very differently about it.

SELF FULFILLING

Your beliefs are self- fulfilling.  Consciously, or not you seek out and attract evidence that makes your beliefs stronger; that confirm your world view.  The flip side to that is you often reject what might challenge them.

So, for example, when something new happens to you and you are faced with new information you compare it to what you already know (from your previous experiences, your conditioning, your values ie. Your belief systems).  This helps you to process the new stuff. And then you either add the new information to your understanding or you reject it.

GIVE THIS SOME THOUGHT…

What if your beliefs are based on mis-information; shaky foundations?  It doesn’t matter if your belief is incorrect – it still colours your judgement of the world.

WHAT IS A BELIEF

It is something we assume to be true.  A  belief is just a thought you keep thinking until you accept it to be fact.   IT IS NOT A FACT

It is important that you examine your beliefs and ask yourself the question, ‘Where did that belief originate?  Is it accurate? How do I feel about it now as an adult?

Understanding your belief system and its origins is the first step to addressing any of those pesky ‘LIMITING BELIEFS’ that we all have and that we can all change with some effort and attention.  We will talk about those in part two of this series.

 

YOU CAN WATCH THE VIDEO HERE (AND have Coffee with Chrissie)  UNDERSTANDING YOUR BELIEF SYSTEM

As always – I would love to hear what you think – tell me in the comments box below.  Let’s start a conversation,