By David Batchelor
Belief is a feeling of certainty – but being certain of what?
Being certain of possibilities.
When we believe something, what we really believe is that that thing is possible. Life after death… a cure for cancer or Lupus or AIDS… success in any endeavor… we either believe it’s possible or we do not. “Impossibility” might simply be defined as “the absence of positive belief.”
The more certain you feel a thing is possible for you, the stronger your belief. Conversely, you can weaken or even kill a belief by introducing doubt.
Doubt is like black paint. Belief is white. Have you ever mixed white paint into black to get gray? It takes an extraordinary amount of white added to black to lighten it, yet the tiniest dab of black added to white makes it gray immediately. Doubt is like that.
While our beliefs are feelings of certainty, that doesn’t mean that our beliefs are the absolute truth. However, we operate as if our beliefs were the truth. And isn’t that wonderful! It means we can change our beliefs whenever we want. We are in control – in fact, our beliefs are among the only few things in life we truly can control. In the realm of belief, we are all truly free.
Can you think of anything more limiting than being a prisoner of war, held under the most inhumane of conditions, with no apparent hope of rescue? Viktor Frankl’s famous book Man’s Search for Meaning – which chronicles life in a Nazi concentration camp – vividly demonstrates the extraordinary human capacity for triumphing over external circumstances by the power and freedom of possibility thinking:
We clearly have a choice: Create beliefs that limit, or create beliefs that empower. It really is that simple.
Your beliefs shape your actions. Your actions create your results, the circumstances of your life; and those results, when stretched out over a lifetime, are what’s called your destiny. Therefore, your beliefs – what you cause your mind to think and feel certain about – are the creative source of your destiny, the ultimate outcome of how life is for you.
Now, stop and think for a moment: Is that the way you think it works?
For many people, this is a dramatic paradigm shift. Most of us walk around believing that when we earn that $100,000, or drive that Porsche, or live in that fantastic house, then we’ll really feel great!
We think that our results cause our feelings.
Well, it can work that way – but that’s not the only way it has to be. Obviously, things happen and you feel one way or another about them. That’s a choice you have. But do you see that your feelings can also cause results?
Remember, your beliefs are feelings of certainty – feelings which, however aware or unaware you might be of it, you choose to have. Your feelings direct your actions. So, if you want to achieve a specific result, one surefire way to get it is to feel the way you would as if that result were already present and true for you.
How would you feel if you earned $100,000? Can you think of any better way to bring that kind of income into your life as fast as possible than feeling like a $100,000 income earner? There isn’t any.
You probably can’t bring that Porsche into your driveway this very minute – but you most certainly can feel the way you would feel if that car were sitting there right this minute. And imagine what would happen in time if you went around feeling that way.
Whether or not a Porsche happens to appeal to you, my point is just how powerful a creative tool belief is for you. This is not “positive thinking” mumbo jumbo – it’s how great accomplishments actually occur. It’s how success happens. And it’s crucial that you understand this point – or at least, try it on as a possibility.
Now, knowing this is not enough. Knowledge alone never produces accomplishment. One of the greatest half-truths (i.e., half-lies!) in the world is, “knowledge is power.”
Not quite.
The #1 belief for all high-achievers I have ever met or studied is the belief that Action Supersedes Everything.
I know this is a fundamental shift for many of us: it means changing the habitual strategy of “Ready, Aim, Fire” to the more proactive – and, most people would assume, more reckless and dangerous – “Fire, Aim, Ready!”
But that’s precisely the kind of shift that generates quantum leaps and breakthroughs in our lives.
Action Supersedes Everything!
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David Batchelor has written numerous articles focusing on Tips, Strategies, Tools and how-to’s for creating the Ultimate Home Based Business.