I just started reading Zero to Zillionaire: 8 Foolproof Steps to Financial Peace of Mind by Chellie Campbell. The first step, or strategy, she lays out in the book is: “Change Your Mindset and Change Your Future.”
The point she makes is that the situation we find ourselves in today (whether good, bad or indifferent) in our finances, relationships, career, etc., is a direct result of our thinking. And if we are not happy with our situation and want to make change in certain areas of our lives, we need to change our thinking – our beliefs – in those areas.
One of my mentors explained it this way in a concept he called The Belief Matrix.
The Belief Matrix
He said that everyone has a certain set of beliefs (or mindset or worldview) that govern our attitudes, which then direct our actions, which produce certain results. These beliefs are things we know to be true, whether they are actually true or not.
For example, you might say that you believe physical health is important to you. But, if you are overweight, don’t exercise, and aren’t motivated enough to schedule time to do it, then I guess you really don’t believe that physical health is important to you, do you?
Have you ever noticed that most people, when they’re not happy with results in their life or work, typically just focus on changing their actions? But what happens? Often, the change doesn’t last, because they lose their motivation to make the change due to the old attitudes and beliefs that still govern their lives.
If you want to make lasting change in your life, don’t just change your actions, change your attitudes and beliefs too.
Simply work backwards through The Belief Matrix. Ask yourself:
- What are the results that I want?
- What actions do I need to take in order to produce the results I want?
- What attitudes do I need to have that will direct the actions I want?
- What beliefs do I need to believe in order to create the attitudes I want?
Belief Matrix Starting with Results
Your beliefs then, become your personal values, the things that are most important to you, in a given life area. And they become the true source of motivation or lasting change.
So, once you’ve identified the beliefs you want, how do you stay focused on them, and not drift back into old beliefs which will inevitably lead you back to your old results? I’ll share my thoughts on how to harness the power of the mind to get results in my next post.
Is there an area of your life where you need to change your thinking in order to change your results? Or, have you already experienced a change in your life due to a change in your thinking? Please share your thoughts.
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This makes sense. You lead a horse by its head and not by its legs 🙂 But – HOW do you change your beliefs, given that your definition of beliefs as things you ‘know’ to be true? Is it a matter of repeating the new belief to yourself? Acting as tho’ you believe it, even if you’re not there yet? Meditating? This is a tough one for me to follow.
Ami, thanks for sharing your clarifying questions! In my next post, I’ll share my thoughts on some specific steps we can take to change our beliefs. Here are some quick thoughts for now…
We need to realize that our beliefs have been programmed in us over time through our life experience to this point. Sources include parents, siblings, peers, friends, etc. Many exist by default rather than by intent or design. That is why I say we believe these things to be true, whether they are true or not. I think it is sometimes helpful (though perhaps painful) to identify the source of the belief we want to change.
In order to change a belief we need to re-write a new and better one. To do that, we need to know what the truth is, and what we want to be true in our lives, based on the results, actions and attitudes we want.
For example, suppose a person realizes that they’ve gone from relationship to relationship over the years because they have a belief, deep down, that no one will ever really love them for who they are. They can re-write that belief based on the truth (for me, taken from Scripture) that God created them, loves them, and has a purpose for their lives. Now, even if they don’t believe that, I think they can re-write a belief that they want to be true…maybe something like: “I love others for who they are, and I am loved by others for who I am.”
Once we re-write a belief, we need to find ways to reinforce it so it becomes true in our lives and impacts our attitudes, actions and results. Meditation may help, or prayer. I like to write an affirmation based on my new belief and recite it several times each day. In this example, the affirmation could simply be: “I love others for who they are, and I am loved by others for who I am.” My experience has been that over time I come to “own” the affirmation. It is the law of exposure – we are influenced by what we think about, and our thoughts shape who we are as a person.
Hope that helps. I’ll share more tomorrow.
Hi Am writing a book on sales and have come across this article on belief and find it interesting. Can I use the content of this article in my book. Will share due credit and link to this blog. If you approve then will use the content from here. Pls do let me know.