BELIEFS
Our beliefs define how we see the world from the inside-out. Our brains ‘hard-wire’ connections between bits of sensory data that we use to make sense of what we hear, see, feel, smell and taste. But they may not serve us well when the context changes. Beliefs make us human. They guide our thoughts, choices and actions with us being aware until they stop making sense and cause a concern or breakdown in the daily flow of our life.
We can change them as we can shift the pattern of our thinking to when we become aware of our “conscious incompetence” and practice the change to reach “unconscious competence” again. Unless we observe them in action we cannot challenge or change them they will continue to shape our life.
The philosopher Rene Descartes thought that understanding (knowing) had to come first to weigh up if you believed something or not. Baruch Spinoza thought that to “know” something you had to believe it. Neuroscience is now showing us that Spinoza’s idea as the brain works looks for the “path of least resistance” and prefers to unthinkingly accept data that fits in with what we already know. Indeed, belief comes easily as an emotion, doubt takes more effort as you have to think. This is why it’s easier to generalise, distort the facts and delete what doesn’t fit your assessment. You want to hold on to what is your truth, your belief. But it’s only your opinion, perception or worldview that your mind has created for you. It’s the certainty you need to survive in a paradoxical and uncertain world.
What’s important about beliefs from an ontological perspective is that they open and close possibilities, but we fail to see this because our beliefs are transparent to us. We look through them, not at them. If we are not getting the results we want then maybe we should be looking at the beliefs or values that are shaping our thinking. feelings and actions.
It’s our beliefs that lead us into action (or no action) because they shape how we interpret and draw conclusions from the facts we have selected. They serve the values that are important to us. That’s why conversations to improve performance tend to focus on actions, perhaps motivations, but rarely the assumptions we are making about why the result is important to us. We are quick to question people’s actions, but not the thinking that led to those actions.
This is why people do not like their actions questioned. They do not want their thinking to be questioned because it is perceived to be challenging who they are and what they believe in. We often say – “be hard on the actions and soft of the person”. But without exploring beliefs any change will be superficial and short-lived. This is why most change initiatives fail. We have to change the way we see the world and this involves changing our beliefs.
We inherit most of our beliefs. They live in the background as the values and culture of the environment we live and grow up in. We live in a world of self-generating beliefs which remain largely untested. They are inferred from what we assess as “true” in the moment, shaped by past assertions or interpretations and future desires or declarations. We go from event to explanation up a thinking ladder that selects data from what is observed, to which meaning is given, conclusions are drawn and new actions declared.
Because we like to be “right” in our assessments we listen to our self-talk in order to justify our beliefs about ourselves. This is our self-image or identity – who we think we are. The feeling of “not being true to ourselves” suggests that the beliefs we hold about ourselves are not authentically who we are. We may be wrong about ourselves but remain unwilling to make requests or promises to ourselves to reassess what we value. Unless we face facts we cannot move. We won’t explore possibilities for new action, understand other people or a real sense of fulfillment.
