Let me explain.

All of us hold convictions about something that we didn’t the day we were born. Those convictions have become our truth. What we’ve accepted as truth becomes what we believe. And our beliefs shape how we view and perceive our experiences. That in turn affects everything we do, whether we are aware of it or not.

For example, I once knew a girl… (let’s call her Lillian), and when Lillian was in high school she wore a new shirt to school. Everything seemed to go right for Lillian that day. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she had had that awesome of a day. This made her wonder what made this day any different than the others. What had she done differently that brought this good fortune upon her? Her new shirt was the only thing she could think of that had changed.

The following week, Lillian wore that same shirt and watched for all the good luck to appear. Again.. awesome day! Well, this was all the proof she needed to believe that this shirt was indeed lucky. For the rest of the school year, whenever she really needed to have a good day, she made sure she had her lucky shirt ready to wear. Sure, there were days she wore the shirt and had hardships but because of her belief, it was easy to ignore or dismiss what didn’t fit into her truth. But boy, when something went right while she was wearing her lucky shirt, Lillian gave credit to the shirt. Because that’s what she believed.

People may call this superstition. But if you knew my sister back then and told her she was just being superstitious, she’d put you in your place real quick.

Oh. Yeah, this was actually a real story about my sister. And her name isn’t Lillian. And it wasn’t so much a lucky shirt as it was lucky underwear. Rainbow underwear. I mean, how could that NOT be lucky?!!

The point is, we invent our beliefs and call it truth. Is this to say you should second guess all of your beliefs?

Heck no! And also yes…

As a life coach, much of my job entails bringing to light someone’s false or unhealthy beliefs and help them adopt healthier beliefs that will get them closer to their goals. It really is amazing how many false beliefs we walk around with day to day.

What Do Your Beliefs Give You?

All beliefs, even negative and destructive beliefs exist for a reason. At some point you have gathered evidence that supports everything you believe.

Our most limiting beliefs about ourselves may get in the way of any action we need to take. If we believe that we’re not bright enough to get a promotion, then we give ourselves permission not to try. If we believe that all the men or women we date are selfish and untrustworthy, we will tend to build protective walls so that we don’t get hurt.

Your limiting beliefs have a function, but a very limited one. Your empowering acceptances on the other hand, serve you far better by helping you to expand the range of what is possible in your world.

At some point you have gathered evidence that supports everything you believe.

When we identify unhealthy beliefs and see how it’s keeping us from where we want to be, then and only then, can we find the will to replace that “truth” with a much healthier way of thinking.

So let me ask you, what do you think you deserve in this life?

Do you believe you deserve happiness? Struggle? Adventure? Punishment? Love?

Take today and ponder on that. Better yet, free-write your thoughts as they come to you. Don’t filter, just write.

Your thoughts might just surprise you.