Are our beliefs working for us or against us

In early December, I was outside mowing my backyard. Not very common for this time of year, I know, but it needed to be done so I took the time to do it. As I was mowing, I could hear my Dad’s voice inside my head telling me: “it’s too wet outside, you don’t mow grass when it’s wet - it has to be dry.” Interestingly enough, it has probably been over 25 years since my Dad told me that. Yet, even after all this time, I can still hear that statement in my head and Dad was serious about it. Mowing the lawn when it is wet is not something we do. I never really knew why, I just knew that if I ever did it and my Dad found out, I would have been in big trouble.

My Dad had a strong belief that mowing the grass when it was wet was wrong. Yet on every golf course across this country, rain or shine, the grass on the greens and the fairways are mowed constantly to keep them in ideal condition. Lawn maintenance companies in every town and city keep their customers grass cut and trimmed to an attractive length, no matter if it rains or not. This alone tells us that there really is no right or wrong about this subject, there is only a belief about the way we think it should be. Ironically enough, this is mostly the way you and I live our life. We live, do and operate around what it is we believe to be true. It does not matter what the subject is. We are all a prisoner to our own personal beliefs because what we believe to be true is the very thing that either holds us back, or pushes us forward to what we want in our life.

Even having a low self esteem stems from the lack of belief in yourself that you are worthy, valuable and important. Do you seek to make twice the amount of money this year as you did last year? Get real with you for a minute and ask yourself if you truly believe that you are worth making that much money. Then, ask yourself: do you believe you can make that much money. It’s not a matter of how you will make the money. It’s a matter of believing you can.

Looking to land the ideal job? Look in the mirror and ask yourself: Am I really worth a job like this. If you can’t say yes with a fair amount of confidence and self assurance, then there is a good chance inside of you somewhere that you really don’t believe you are worth it and if you don’t believe it, it will never come to be. Even the Bible talks to us about our beliefs repeatedly. Jesus performed miracles and it wasn’t because he was some sort of magic man, it was because he believed in himself and who he was. You and I will always be a prisoner to what we believe, good or bad, healthy or unhealthy, it does not matter.

Some of us have such deep rooted beliefs that they do us far more harm then good and upon changing them, we would be pleasantly surprised at just how different life would look for us. I like to refer to this as making our beliefs work for us, not against us.

Doing this will guarantee us a different life but those old beliefs will not leave you willingly, they will put up a fight. If you truly want to change them, the first step is becoming aware that they could be holding you back. Even though I changed my belief about mowing the grass when it is wet, that old belief still tries to pop up and remind me that I shouldn’t mow the grass when it is wet. The key here is to choose to override it and make a new belief – one that works for you rather than against you.

Our beliefs control us in what we do, say, act and how we live our life. I am going to take the next 7 weeks and cover a series about how to become aware of unhealthy beliefs and how you can re program them. Stay tuned for next week when we start part 1 of beliefs.

Have a great Friday everyone, be blessed.