The Foundation of Success: Understanding Your Core Beliefs

When we are working towards achieving success in our personal and professional lives, we frequently fail to notice a key component that quietly drives our behaviours and decisions. This component is our underlying beliefs. These beliefs act as a lens through which we view the world, and more importantly, they are the forces responsible for shaping the reality we encounter in our lives. It is possible that the process of developing an understanding of these concepts and adjusting them can be transformative, hence opening doors to new opportunities and successes.

The Roots of our Beliefs: The Subconscious Mind

The fact that our subconscious mind, which plays a large role in the creation of these beliefs, is fully established by the time we are roughly six years old is an intriguing fact to take into consideration. Consequently, a considerable proportion of our fundamental beliefs are formed during the years while we are still physically developing, which occurs frequently without our conscious awareness. Our experiences, the environment in which we are raised, and the signals we receive from others in our near vicinity all contribute to the formation of these ideas.

Early Childhood Experiences: Setting the Stage

For instance, when I was seven years old, I decided to try out for the community baseball team because all my friends were trying out, and I wanted to be with them. Because I had never played baseball before, my performance at the tryouts was not nearly up to pace (lets just say I sucked at baseball...). I had no prior experience playing the game. The feedback from the coach, well lets just say it wasn't favorable , and I basically went home crying and feeling very deflated. This experience, which I look back and it was rather trivial, shaped my belief for the rest of my life that I wasn't good at sports, and I never tried out for anything sports related after that.

This story isn't unique, I'm sure as you are reading this, you've got experiences or memories from experiences that you had. What I didn't know until 2017 when I was learning more about the power of beliefs, is that these early year experiences shape our beliefs about ourselves and our capabilities. Left unexamined, they will continue to influece our choices and actions.

In this YouTube video, she does a really good job of describing how our belief system is created in early childhood, and how it impacts our future self:

The Impact of Unexamined Beliefs

Unexamined beliefs can be very limiting; they can create self-imposed barriers, stopping us from doing things we really would love to do or taking opportunities (or risks...) in our personal or professional lives. These beliefs might sound like "I'm not good enough", "I could never do that", they cause us to hesitate or refrain from embarking on an "adventure" as I like to call it. Personally, they have affected my relationships, hobbies, and my overall sense of well-being.

Questioning our Beliefs

It is of the utmost importance to pause for a moment and give some thought to these beliefs. Explore your thoughts and determine which of your beliefs were formed as a result of the events you've had in the past. Are these beliefs genuinely true? Are the stories that you are telling yourself true? OR are they based on a belief system and it's only what you are still telling yourself, whether they are true or not. Through this form of introspection, one's eyes may be awakened to new things. In our experience, it is not unusual for us to realize that many of the perspectives we have had for a considerable amount of time are dependent on assumptions that are either wrong or out of date.

An excellent illustration of this would be the tryout for the baseball team.

Going back to the experience I had with the baseball tryout, I came to the realization that I did not possess the ability to perform its an athlete successfully. On the other hand, after giving it some more thought, it is clear that this image was formed on the basis of a single, inexperienced attempt at a sport that I had never before played. The fact I'd never played baseball before was the determining factor as to why it didn't go so well !

When I realized this was just a bad story I was telling myself, I had to knock down the old belief and replace it with one that was true. The new story was now more along the lines of "I need practice to get better at new skills." Instead of thinking, "I'm not good at sports," for example. If there had been an alternative, it would have been beneficial. This shift of perspective makes it possible to have access to a large array of opportunities, which in turn creates an environment that is conducive to learning and growth.

Making Use of This in Your Repetitive Activities

Is it possible for you to reflect on your own life at this very current moment? What are some of the views that you have held since you were a child and have never wavered from? In what ways have these concepts impacted the decisions and ways of doing things that you have accomplished? Is it more accurate to say that these beliefs are advantageous to you or that they are stopping you from going forward towards your goals?

Inspiring Personal Introspection and Thought

I would want for you to take part in this activity that requires you to reflect on something about yourself. Which of the views that you have held since you were a child is the one that you will discuss. Find out where it originated, and cast doubt on the truth of what it says. In the event that you come to the realisation that this concept is not accurate or that it is no longer advantageous to you, you ought to give some thought to the new belief that you can adopt in its place.

In search of personal development, a spiritual quest

Rather than being solely an exercise in self-improvement, the process of developing a knowledge of and altering our fundamental concepts is more accurately described as a journey of change. We must first study the sources of our beliefs, then challenge the reality of those beliefs, and last, actively adopt concepts that empower us in order to set ourselves up for success in both our personal and professional lives. This will allow us to become more successful in both areas of our lives. It is necessary to be bold, honest, and willing to adjust to changing conditions in order to successfully complete this journey. Have you reached the point where you are prepared to embark on this adventure that will profoundly alter you?