Your beliefs drive your life

"In order to believe in something you must first agree with it."
(Quoted from 8,789 Words of Wisdom by Barbara Ann Kipfer)

This quote stirred up a memory for me. A good part of my Master-level NLP education focused on beliefs and values. Your beliefs drive everything! Beliefs and values determine how we spend your time, energy, money, the quality of our relationships and everything else in our lives. We all have two levels of beliefs: our conscious beliefs and our deeper, underlying unconscious ones. The conscious beliefs are obvious to you; it's the unconscious ones that show up in all of those troubled areas in your life. And what's weird is that you may think you believe in one thing (prosperity is a good example), but really - based on the results you're getting in your life - you really, at a deeper unconscious level, believe something else (money is evil).

So here's the deal. In order to change what's happening in your life - whether it's struggling with relationships, hating your job, or being financially challenged - you have to discover your deep values and beliefs and create new ones that will get the results you want. The truth is, you literally can't do something unless you believe it. If deep inside you think that money is evil, you will not allow yourself to have money.

Given that beliefs run your life, wouldn't it be great to know what your beliefs are? And better yet, be able to change and believe those things that will make your life great?

People say "That's just the way I am", as if you can't change your beliefs. Actually, it's something we do all the time, every day. What do I mean? New information creates new beliefs. Say a new story comes on TV about a politician you voted for who just got caught embezzeling state funds. That new information makes you stop and re-evaluate what you thought about the guy (your old belief). You then add the new information to what you knew before and, most likely, change your agreement with yourself that he was a good person to represent you. You now believe he's a crook and you decide not to support that politician in the next election (your new belief). That's how quickly and easily you can change. New information is the key.

And notice that the new belief drives the actions you take from this point forward. You'll probably share you new opinions with someone. You may find yourself researching other candidates who you could vote for in the next election. You could feel outraged enough to join a political action group to weed out corruption in government. At the very least, when voting day comes you'll cast your vote a different direction.

Here's the problem. Believe it or not, your beliefs act as filters that prevent new information from coming in. That's why people get so frustrated about changing beliefs. It sometimes takes outside help to see what you can't see, a new perspective. Hypnosis is one way I help my clients. It allows us to bypass the conscious barrier and install new information at the deep levels where the unconscious beliefs live. I also use a questioning process (called quantum linguistics) that help me wiggle through the belief filters and find new handle holds that allow you to create the new beliefs you want.

If you don't like what's happening in your life, find a way to discover your beliefs and values. Start with a specific area of your life. Ask yourself, "What's important to me about X?" Write down all of the answers that come to you. Then, ask yourself again, "What's important to me about X?" Again, write down any new answers. Then repeat the question a third time and write down all of the answers you get. You may be surprised at what you discover. Send me an email and let me know how it goes!

You have to take action in order to change your beliefs.