One thing that resonated with me this week in our Master Key Mastermind Alliance reading was the power and importance of beliefs.  Sections 17 to 18 emphasized this point with sentences like, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24); and “We are first to believe that our desire has already been fulfilled, it’s accomplishment will then follow.”  Wow, both very powerful statements supporting the power and importance of beliefs.

What do you believe?

Beliefs are indeed life defining and action directing.  What you believe significantly regulates your behavior on all fronts.  Our beliefs define how we think the world works and how we should interact with it.  They bridge the gap between what we “know” and what we “assume” in order for us to function day-to-day, make decisions, and choices.

A very rudimentary example would be if you believe a particular chair is solid and strong you sit in it without any hesitation or conscious thought.  On the other hand if you believe you are too heavy for a particular chair you will remain standing.  Another widely accepted belief is in the laws of gravity.  We believe them so much so that unless we want to die, we avoid walking off the top of a 20 story skyscraper because we “believe” that will result in our death.

Here’s a people perception example:  If you believe people are inherently good, you will very likely give people the benefit of the doubt when questionable conditions arise.  To the contrary, if you fundamentally believe people are lazy and always looking for shortcuts you will more quickly believe the worst when questionable conditions arise.

Spiritually, your beliefs or lack of belief in the mercy, grace, and forgiveness of God will determine your level of anxiety, hope and empathy you exemplify in your life.

Our beliefs are formed in a variety of ways over the years and are not necessarily based on what has been proven or accepted as true.  In other words, we may believe many things, personally, that are impossible to prove scientifically, or even that we know are unlikely to be true and yet we continue to believe them anyway.  Plus, everyone who lives has another set of beliefs…some overlap but it’s likely impossible for any two people to have the exact set of beliefs.  That, to say the least, can be confusing and exacerbating.

So you may be asking, “What does this all mean and how is it relevant to my strategic plan of action?”  Good question.  The key take-away is remembering that to a very large extent, our beliefs directly impact our actions and the beliefs we are operating on today may not be those you’d chose to be guided by going forward.  For example, if someone has said to you over and over that you can’t do something and you’ve adopted that belief to be your own now, you can decide that you will change that belief.  Doing so would certainly be wise and will serve you better going forward.  That change would not occur however if it is not first recognized.

Additionally being mindful of the influencing power of beliefs on behavior can help you when trying to understand other people and their “odd” behaviors.  They could simply be operating from very different beliefs.  What you do with that understanding is a subsequent question but understanding it can be very empowering.

With all that said, I return to the question, “What do you believe?”

Suggestion:  Identify your beliefs in various areas of your life including beliefs about yourself, people in general, other races, authority, the government role, faith, God, what’s possible, etc.