How Beliefs Work Part I: 3 Things You Must Know About The Science Of Beliefs

Belief is a strange thing indeed. It can make a millionaire out of a former drug-dealing gang member, and fail millions of students at the same time. It is responsible for the airplanes that just flew above my head plus numerous other inventions, but at the same time the mastermind behind mass genocides and relentless insurgents' attacks around the globe. It has been expounded upon countless times, with its effects evident wherever you see; but people still ignore its presence and how it can build, or destroy us.

The millionaire mentioned above is Stephen Pierce. He was a gang member whose brush with death and his violent past did not prevent him from achieving roaring success with his online business. The Wright brothers who invented airplanes were just bicycle repairmen, but they had created the flying machine despite negative feedback and setbacks. Your beliefs will always exert an effect on you, whether you believe it or not. So how do beliefs work? Here are four important things to note:

1. Empowering beliefs push us forward and open our perspective, while limiting beliefs hold us back and blind us to available resources.

Your beliefs are what truly limit you in your endeavour. Not your available resources, not your parents' gene nor is it other people's comments. It is your beliefs. Your beliefs will determine how far you can go. When you have a certain belief, nothing can stop you from committing yourself to it. Your mind will tap into its potential to prove that you're right. If you think you 'can', your mind and body will utilised every resources available to help you achieve it. Similarly, if you think you 'can't'. Your mind will shut off all possibilities of ever achieving it.

2. Your beliefs can affect your body's functioning.

Your belief is so powerful that it does not just direct your actions, makes your decision, but even alters your body chemistry. Have you heard of the placebo effect? Human test subjects who took what they thought were depressants display effects of the drug, even though the drug is actually a stimulant. Your beliefs can actually cause chemical changes in your body, regardless of prior drug consumption! This means that you can also control your body immunity system to a certain extent, simply by making a conscious effort to live healthily and maintaining the beliefs that 'I am in control of my own health'.

3. A belief is just a thought supported by evidence.

For example, I used to think that rubik cubes are impossible to solve. But once I realize that the belief is due to one faulty idea and evidences that support it, I went all out to re-examine these evidences. They include: limited knowledge of its structure (the only thing I know is that it is made of plastic) and zero knowledge of how to start. I challenge all these evidences by posing new and stronger evidences. Just to name a few, I dissected a few cubes and started watching diy videos at 'YouTube' until I'm convinced that it is possible.

Imagine a truck cruising down the highway. What gives the truck the pushing force? It is the engine. But the engine does not make up the truck. It also requires the wheels, the chassis, fuels and other parts to move the vehicle.

A belief works exactly the same way! If a belief is likened to a truck, the engine will be the thought, and the other parts of the vehicle are evidences that support the thought and help to run your belief. To complicate matters, all these apparels, including the engine, are provided other people or events. As long as it is compatible with the engine, you will take it and never consider other options.

So how do you change the faulty engine and customize every part of the car?