So often we’re seduced into believing that events control our lives and that our environment has shaped who we are today. No greater lie was ever told. It’s not the events of our lives that shape us, but out beliefs as to what those events mean.
It’s never the environment; it’s never the events of our lives but the meaning we attach to the events-how we interpret them-that shapes who we are today and who we’ll become tomorrow. Beliefs are what will lead to pain and what will lead to pleasure. Whenever something happens in your life, your brain asks two questions: 1) Will this mean pain or pleasure? 2) What must I do now to avoid pain and/or gain pleasure? The answers to these two questions are based on our beliefs, and our beliefs are driven by generalizations about what we’ve learned could lead to pain and pleasure. these generalizations guide all of our actions and thus the direction and quality of our lives,
Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Some people have taken the pain of their past and said “Because of this, I will help others. Because I lost my son, I will make a difference in the world” I had that experience and, as a result, started a scholarship program for high school students in his name.
We all have the capacity to create meanings that empower us, but so many of us never tap into it, or even recognize it.
Next time, what is a belief and how can we make our beliefs create instead of destroy.
