Ever wonder why we act the way we do in this world?
Simon Sinek, a well known author and speaker started a revolution with his famous TED Talk “Start with your why?”. He asks, “Do you know your why?”. Do you? For example: Why do you dress the way you do? Why do you worship XYZ? Why do you exercise?
When you ask someone else the same question, why is their answer different from your why?
Our WHYs come from our beliefs.
From the day we are able to cognitively understand our experiences and interpret them shape a certain belief. This belief then gives value to something (such as things, people, experiences, religion, money, fame, causes etc). Once something has a value in our eyes, we then have a desire to create the outcome we want. It is this desire that gives us the momentum to speak and take actions a certain way in our daily lives.
In other words, a “belief” gives rise to a “value” which gives rise to a “desire” which gives rise to our “words and actions”.
As human beings, once we have a belief, the quest for the certainty of that belief begins. Just take a moment to check all the pages you have liked in Social Media or subscribed to online. Most likely, they are pages that will reaffirm your beliefs on a certain topic. Why do we search for this certainty?
The truth is many of us are afraid of our own beliefs. How is that possible, right?
We are afraid of being shown that our beliefs may be false. It crashes our identity, how we see ourselves in this world. A blow to our identity or image does not feel good to most of us.
The reality, however, is a different one. Our identity is always crashing and evolving whether we pause to acknowledge it or not. If we revisit our past, we will find that our beliefs often changed or at least transformed as time passed.
If our beliefs change or evolve over time, why not choose to live in this present moment with the freedom of not being so attached to our beliefs?
Living with the knowledge that our beliefs will change over time is liberating. It also helps us want to understand those on the other side of our beliefs.
So should we not have beliefs? On the contrary, beliefs are extremely powerful and important. Our words and actions always trace back to a belief.
Have you ever witnessed someone extending kindness even in the midst of what looks like an argument? Or someone overcoming all obstacles to achieve their goals? That behavior is influenced by a certain belief.
We can see the impact of our beliefs in this world by examining the outcome of our words and actions.
Upon examining we should be asking ourselves:
Is the belief limiting me or empowering me? Is it inspiring me and others to be less fearful and more loving? Is it uniting people rather than dividing? Is it creating a loving family and community?
Belief is a beautiful thing yet an unexamined belief may not be worth holding on to. Developing a habit of occasionally re-examining our beliefs is the only way we can be certain that we are making the impact we hope to make.
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