By Maia Rizzi
Whether positive or negative in orientation, we all hold certain beliefs about life, and how it works, and, we assume our personal beliefs to be based in “truth”. As we mature, we begin to negotiate with circumstances and situations that present themselves by using these same beliefs as a foundation and directional barometer
. Our life perceptions and decision-making processes are grounded in the beliefs that we hold. In other words, what we” believe” to be true about life, dictates what we are perceiving and therefore, also the way that we respond to circumstances.
Whether positive or negative in orientation, we all hold certain beliefs about life, and how it works, and, we assume our personal beliefs to be based in “truth”. As we mature, we begin to negotiate with circumstances and situations that present themselves by using these same beliefs as a foundation and directional barometer
. Our life perceptions and decision-making processes are grounded in the beliefs that we hold. In other words, what we” believe” to be true about life, dictates what we are perceiving and therefore, also the way that we respond to circumstances.
At a very fundamental level, beliefs are fairly polarized; some are “life-sustaining,” meaning that they support us and generate feelings of hope and trust. Others are “life-draining” in that they leave us feeling vulnerable or inadequate in the face of circumstances that life presents us with.
For example: While some of us have faith that life unfolds in a manner that moves us towards positive results, others believe on some level that life has to be a struggle and that goals are difficult to manifest without great sacrifice.. Another example: some of us believe that we are worthy of good friends who are loyal and supportive, while others feel they can never really rely on people, maintaining a serious element of doubt as to others’ motivations. While these two examples are on opposite ends of the spectrum, and there are, to be sure, places in between extremes, we basically vacillate between positive and negative hoping to find a happy medium.
Our beliefs can vary significantly. While many of our beliefs may serve us well and help us negotiate life in a meaningful manner…others hold us back not only from getting what we want, but also from feeling good about ourselves. What we need to understand more than anything, if we want to create lives of joy and abundance, is where these beliefs come from, and why they rule our lives so profoundly. Where does this ingrained sense of value, whether positive or negative, that we hold about ourselves originate? Furthermore, we also need to address and greatly sharpen our ability to pinpoint the beliefs we do hold; we need to be able to identify what we believe in some way that makes it clear to us how we are to proceed to better our lives.
Where do beliefs originate?
From a psychological perspective, about 80% of our beliefs are instilled in us during early childhood between birth and the age of 7 (seven). During this period of life, we unquestioningly adopt attitudes and perceptions that are passed on to us via our caretakers and environmental circumstances. At this early point in life, as our minds are developing, we have absolutely no filtering system to help us distinguish between what will sustain us as grown individuals and what will not. Due to our inexperience and youth, we accept both what we are taught and what we are exposed to as absolute truth and this becomes the foundation of our future conscious and unconscious belief system whether for good, bad, or indifferent. Furthermore, we continue to adopt life attitudes during the precarious pre-teen and early adolescent years so that by 15 years of age we have formed the remaining 20%, and have thus established 100%, or the equivalent of a fairly complete life perspective and general belief system. We may do some rebelling and questioning of values and beliefs during our teen years, mostly due to “peer pressure” which exerts some hefty persuasive pressure on us to be sure, but the bedrock of what we believe has been laid.So here’s the thing: as adults, most of us are looking at life through a filter that was provided for us by the people that brought us up during the first years of our lives and the circumstances that surrounded us at the time. Now, if these people and circumstances had only our personal good at heart, wonderful!; I would have no gripes. HOWEVER, if who and what we were exposed to as children leaves us feeling unworthy, inadequate or undeserving in any way, why would we want to hold onto those beliefs? We deserve so very much more! The beauty about life is that if we can become aware of the beliefs that we hold that do not serve us, we can change them! And in changing our belief system, we change our lives. So, let us all become explorers of the most compelling frontier of our time: our own consciousness! Let us look for what we believe and if the belief does not serve us…LET’S CHANGE IT!!!!!!!
