How to Change or Develop a Belief System
Posted by Arin Vahanian at 10/31/2007 11:11 AM and is filed under uncategorized 
A friend once asked me, “How did you come to believe in yourself and your abilities?” To me, it was a simple enough question, and my answer was even simpler: “I just did.”
Now, that may not make any sense to you right now, but it will by the time you finish reading this blog entry.
People have asked me about how they could go about changing the beliefs that they have about themselves, about others, and about life. And my answer has always been the same - in order to change a belief, you simply need to change it.
What this means is that you do not need any life-altering events, signs, or proof that you can have a certain belief. The belief does not come from any external forces; it comes entirely from within you. What you need in order to change your belief system, or even just a single belief, is the decision that you are changing your belief. That is all.
All of the beliefs that you have right now, you choose to have. I know this is admittedly a difficult thing for many people to understand, since they feel that they have no control over many of the events in their life. And while it’s true that we may not have control over every single aspect of our lives, one thing we do have control over is how we perceive any given situation, which relates closely to the beliefs we have.
So if we have control over how we perceive things, then we also have control over the beliefs in our life. All of our beliefs put together comprise our belief system, which is such an important part of our lives, yet most of us do not pay much attention to it, and let our belief system fly on autopilot. And this is not necessarily a bad thing, because it’s unrealistic and a waste of time to keep checking every single belief we have before we make a decision. What our belief system should do is guide us without us having to check up on it. But the problem is, for most people, their belief system is comprised of beliefs they don’t want, or are not healthy for them.
Now, the million dollar question is, “How can I develop a strong belief system?”
Well, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that you can literally believe anything you want, and put anything you want into your belief system. Your subconscious mind will believe anything you tell it, and, if you program good beliefs into it, then it will remember those and act accordingly.
The not so good news is that developing a new belief system or changing your old belief system is not always an easy task, and one that takes time and effort. However, the time and effort spent on this will help you in every part of your life, and can even transform your life into something grander, more beautiful, and ultimately more satisfying.
How I developed my belief system is closely related to last month’s article, in which I discussed ways to develop true, core confidence. True belief in yourself and your abilities comes from within, not from accomplishments. Therefore, again, you have to love yourself and fully believe that you are the creator of your own destiny and future.
There is no one specific, magic formula for changing your belief system or developing a new one. But to change an old belief system, you can do what I did. Write down on a piece of paper, beliefs that you have, that you are not proud of. Then, change those beliefs, and write down a different belief incorporating that change.
For example, you may have the belief that “I can never start my own restaurant and be successful at it.” Write that down, and then change it, to something like this:
“It is my vision to own a successful Greek restaurant. I know that I am fully capable of doing so, and lack absolutely nothing. I have the belief that I can start my restaurant and make it successful, and with hard work, effort, and a good business plan, I will make my vision a reality.”
You can do this with literally every belief that you want to change. After you change those beliefs on paper, it is time to program them into your mind. Again, repeating them twice each evening and twice each morning for a period of two weeks will get you started.
To develop a new belief system, it is much simpler – just start believing whatever you want to believe, starting right now!
That may sound trite, but in reality it is more profound than you could ever imagine – you can indeed start believing what you want right now.
You don’t need results to help you believe, nor do you need any “proof.” The only proof is that you believe something fully. Admittedly, this is a difficult thing to teach in today’s society, which emphasizes results and a “win-lose” mentality.
But here is the truth – no one can tell you what to believe in, because it comes from within. No one has any right to tell you what you can and cannot believe in. If you want to succeed at something, then it’s up to you to make that happen, because no one else will do it for you.
And remember, to have such a solid belief system, it has to literally be a part of you, every day, every minute, and every second. It is not something you can switch on before, say, leaving the house, or before going to work. It has to be existent in every situation, and with every person you interact with.
Therefore, one very important thing to consider here is that the belief must come before the action. This means that before you embark upon something, whether it is a job search, starting a new hobby or sport, or moving to another country – you have to have the belief that you can succeed at it, before you actually do it!
For example, you can believe that you will start learning and become proficient at a new language. “Starting tomorrow I shall learn Chinese, and I will succeed at it, because I have the drive, passion, and enthusiasm which is required to succeed at learning a foreign language.”
I have used this very same belief in my own life – I speak five languages and am learning the sixth. You guessed it…Chinese!
I’ve learned Japanese, which is considered one of the world’s most difficult languages, and am now learning Chinese, which is also considered one of the world’s most difficult languages.
I’ve done it not because I’m a prodigy or I’m naturally good at learning languages, though some might say that I am. I have done it by putting hours and hours of effort and practice into it, along with the belief that I can learn any language I want to.
But don’t look at me – look at the examples around you of people who are successful at the things you want to be successful at. You will see very clearly that their belief systems help them achieve their success, and not the other way around.
You must remember that you create the enjoyment or hell in your life. It is entirely up to you and how you perceive a particular situation to be. Ancient philosophers such as Epictetus and Seneca were talking about this thousands of years ago, and now, motivational speakers are talking about it.
No matter who talks about it, the truth remains the same – you can create whatever kind of experience you believe in.
We have countless examples in modern society of people whose beliefs led them to spectacular and inspirational achievements. One of my heroes is the hockey player Wayne Gretzky. Although he was considered a hockey prodigy when he was very young, many critics claimed he was too small and thin to play in the NHL, and that he would never make it in the big leagues.
Gretzky proved them wrong, as he practiced nearly five hours a day and never quit. He thus became the greatest hockey player of all time and set more individual records in his sport than any other athlete in their respective sport.
In spite of his great abilities, had Gretzky not fully believed in himself, there is no way he could have become the greatest player of all time. We often see athletes who have tremendous natural ability, but who falter and consequently do not become anywhere near as good as they could have been.
But the fact that someone is successful is not important – it is the belief he has inside that is important, and which makes him successful.
So, to sum up this article, I’ll give you a variation of a famous quote from Henry Ford: “Whether you BELIEVE you can or BELIEVE you can’t, you’re right.”
I believe the best is possible!
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Excellent post. Such a simple thing but if the majority of society could just grasp the concept that only they are responsible for their results and if they strive for excellence in everything they do, REALITY would change for them immediately.
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Very nice post. I really appreciate it and like your post.
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a great stuff. immediate gives you a sense of liberation from the cluttered thinking
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