The greatest revolution in our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.
- William James
- William James
Recent research has shown that you are what you believe. This way of looking at how we evolve as individuals is quite compelling theoretically.
What you perceive is what you believe. Your personal perception of reality is determined by the beliefs you hold. This does not necessarily make them real, except for the fact that you believe they are. Your beliefs create and dictate what your attitudes are. Your attitudes create and dictate how you respond—in other words, they dictate your feelings. And your feelings largely determine how you behave.
Research has demonstrated that most emotional conditioning and habitual behaviors were set in place, in fact were programmed, very early in life by parents, peers, teachers, and the like.
Basic core beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes held by these significant others are often simply accepted as “fact” and become the “truth.” Children do not develop the capacity for critical conscious scrutiny until much later in life. Once “hard-wired” within our subconscious mind, these beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes become firmly entrenched and the individual largely operates from the programs installed in early life. As adults, these old programs are still running our lives, even though they make no sense, limit our expectations, and may even be detrimental to our well-being.
Trying to “talk” the subconscious into changing its mind may have some benefit, but often, traditional therapies leave something to be desired. We may gain some success through behaviorally bypassing these old programs and adapting new behaviors, but without accessing old programs, we never get to our core beliefs. Many of us who have been in therapy would probably say that your experience helped you gain insights, acquire tools, and develop skills to help you cope better.
Trying to “talk” the subconscious into changing its mind may have some benefit, but often, traditional therapies leave something to be desired. We may gain some success through behaviorally bypassing these old programs and adapting new behaviors, but without accessing old programs, we never get to our core beliefs. Many of us who have been in therapy would probably say that your experience helped you gain insights, acquire tools, and develop skills to help you cope better.
But many would also have to say that being in therapy, as well as reading self-help/self-improvement books, and attending seminars, while often interesting and inspirational, did not provide the long-term benefits that can only come from real change. And that means changing your core beliefs. Without that, it’s simply on to the next therapy and on to the next self-help book.
Author and Credits: Abigail Brenner, M.D.