What do you truly believe about yourself, deep down in your guts? In your heart of hearts, what do you believe about you?
What possibilities does life afford you? What are your limitations? What do you believe about the meaning or purpose of life? What role do you play in it and where and how do others fit in the picture?
You see, what we believe largely predicts the kind of life we will experience. In other words, we can’t live a life that is disconnected from our belief systems. What we believe and the strength of those beliefs will show themselves in our lives, just as sure as apple seeds predict apples.
Some beliefs are self-defeating beliefs that can weigh you down and anchor you to a disappointing life. Other beliefs will free you to rise like a balloon to unimaginable heights of possibility and joy.
5 Beliefs that will Permanently Alter the Trajectory of your Life … Forever!
1. Believe you matter
Translation: You are important. There is value to your existence. You are a person of worth. It makes a tremendous difference to the world that you exist. There are things you were meant to do and become. It matters that you work to do and become them.
You matter because you belong to the human family and therefore have innate meaning and purpose. I personally believe in a divine Parentage that adds eternal significance and possibility to your life as well. But regardless, never accept for a second the lie that your life is meaningless. You matter.
Application: Those who have internalized poor parenting or have otherwise come to the conclusion that they are without particular worth or value, will not likely treat themselves very respectfully or demand it from others.
But those who believe that their lives have worth, are those who discover that life is packed full of meaning and purpose. The whole world opens a door of possibility and opportunity to them. And they willingly step through those doors expecting something wonderful from life.
Bottom line: Here’s the incontrovertible truth: You matter. Period. Believe it!
2. Believe life matters
Translation: Not only do you matter, but life itself matters. How you use it therefore matters. What you do to squander the moments or use them to their fullest matters. We are given only one mortal life to discover and fulfill our purpose, to develop our talents, abilities and character, to love and lead and become the best we can.
Life is expansive and creative. It is dynamic and explosive and wonderful and crazy. It jumps and spins and crashes and lifts and turns upside down and shifts and wiggles and grows and unfolds and delivers and provides. It matters. Those who believe this are those who treat life with respect and fill it with action.
Application: You take steps to discover purpose in life, to learn and live with passion. You grow and make personal growth a priority. You don’t waste life’s precious moments because they are so very precious to you.
Bottom line: Because life matters and we have a finite amount of time to live it, live it to the fullest. Love it. Build a life that is rich with significance and meaning and life will unfold its greatest rewards to you.
3. Believe there are amazing stores of potential within you
Translation: Believe you can become what you yearn to be. Believe in the amazing exceptionalism of the human will. Believe in the resiliency of the human spirit. No matter how far away you are today from where you want to be, believe you can develop those attributes, attitudes and skills necessary to rise to the level of your willingness to grow and succeed.
But belief is the first step. If you don’t believe you can rise to the occasion, that you just don’t have it in you, then you will never take the needed steps toward your dreams because you won’t believe it’s possible to reach them.
Application: There are only limits of fear and doubt that stand in your way. Those who believe in their potential, take steps to eliminate those obstacles that stand in the way, freeing themselves to find the answers to some of life’s most exciting questions. You believe that you were made for excellence, that life is an adventure that is, at its core, an adventure of self-discovery and self-development.
Bottom line: Dig down deep in search of that hidden potential and polish it up to a golden shine! It’s there, perhaps buried under the mud and debris of childhood trauma. But believe it can be found, so go find it!
4. Believe relationships matter most
Translation: You prioritize your relationships over other goals. You make room for the most critical relationships in your life.
Application: You recognize the only way your relationships will be given the time needed to develop them into something beautiful and richly satisfying is to prioritize them above work and pleasure, hobbies, activities and distractions. So you spend time with family. You go on vacations and set aside game nights and date nights and do things together.
Bottom line: Your relationships, in many ways, determine the value of the life you live. Your value is not ultimately found in your bank account. It is in the lives you touch, those you reach out to, the seeds of kindness you plant, the respect you earn from your children, the love of your spouse and the compassion you extend to others.
5. Believe you can make a difference
Translation: You can live a profound life by doing things that are profound. You can add meaning and purpose to life by doing meaningful and purposeful things.
Believe you have the capacity for great good. You can touch a life and make it better. A simple act of kindness sends a ripple through life that continues to radiate out as others, inspired by you, do the same.
Application: You look for opportunities to bless others’ lives. You believe that people matter and you take action to serve them. You are a servant-leader. You join organizations that make a difference in the lives of others. You send little ripples of service and kindness out into the world.
Bottom line: It all starts with a single pebble held in a single hand willing to drop it into the pond of another person’s life. Open your hand and drop it.
Afterthoughts:
Our choices in life determine how we experience our lives – whether in the actions we take toward our goals or the steps we take into the recesses of life, trapped in the cracks of crevices of our own self-neglect. Those choices are deeply influenced by our thinking and attitudes – our habitual patterns of thought. What we think about and how we think it is a product of what we believe.
In other words, our beliefs are the soil in which the gardens of our lives are planted. Condition the soil and the garden grows vibrant and radiant. But try to plant a beautiful garden in hard-packed nutrient-depleted dirt that’s infested with weeds and pests alike, and good luck getting anything of value to grow for very long.
So begin planting a life of profound abundance. And do so by fertilizing the soil of your life with uplifting, inspiring and enriching beliefs.
And come back next week to see 5 more beliefs that can alter the trajectory of your life!
Sharing and Caring
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- Have these beliefs helped you? What beliefs would you add to this list? Please share in the comments.
Photo by: Pixabay
Your article reminded me of two of my favorite quotes–both by Einstein, and both about what we believe. He said that the most important choice we make in life is whether to believe that the universe is friendly or hostile. And he said we can choose to believe that everything is a miracle or nothing is a miracle.
Your list of positive beliefs can change lives. I know because over the years, I have changed my beliefs to be more in line with your list. My life is so different I can hardly recognize my former “self.”
Galen Pearl recently posted … My Plan B Family
Hi Galen!
Belief the the universe is friendly or hostile. That is a really good one! Watch for next weeks follow-up post on the second 5 beliefs: I include seeing the miraculous in life. We are kindred spirits there!
And I think the beauty of change, the “about face” we are capable of making, is itself part of the miracle of life. That is so wonderful that you have come that distance! Can I ask you two questions about that change?
1. How long did the change, or series of changes, take before being able to look back and recognize a different person being left behind?
2. Was there a moment that sort of knocked you off the road and got you started changing? I ask, perhaps because in my experience, most people keep putting along in life largely the way they’ve always been until something wakes them up (a death, a divorce, an illness, a conversion, some sort of epiphany that jars them mentally or emotionally or spiritually). Just curious! I’m nosy that way. 🙂
Have a great day, my friend!
Good questions.
1. The changes had many qualities. There were some aspects that were subtle and gradual, and some that were instantaneous and dramatic. But I do remember the fall of one year in particular when I really realized that my life was different at a fundamental level. That was an exciting time! I guess I would say that I had been dedicated to changing for a couple of years at that point, and I had been working very intensely that year in particular.
2. There was a period when I knew I wanted to change, but still was not willing or able to take the steps. Then, exactly as you said, I ended up in the emergency room with what I think of as my wake up call from life — change or die.
I’m a nosy/curious person myself, so I don’t mind the questions at all. I appreciate the interest.
Galen Pearl recently posted … My Plan B Family
You’re awesome, Galen! Thanks for sharing. Good stories inspire confidence in others to make similar changes, hopefully before hospital stays and the like.
Here’s to the nosy and curious! Cheers! 🙂
Yeah, no kidding. I am a very stubborn person, so life had to get my attention in a dramatic way. Hopefully, others are smarter and will take the hint faster!
Galen Pearl recently posted … My Plan B Family
But at least you got the hint, even if after life reached up and slapped you around a bit. Some never get those hints at all!
Hi ken! Hi Galen!
This is so beautiful Ken! I’ve shared it on G+ (Hint: put the G+ share button here!)
I love what you added Galen! I choose friendly and miraculous!
Lori
Lori Gosselin recently posted … What They Don’t Teach Us in School
Hi Lori!
Thank you so much! I think I’m going to put my ignorance on public display here, but is G+ and +1 the same thing? If so, I have a button at the top of the post. I haven’t found a plugin I’m 100% satisfied with, so have added to the top, but haven’t yet replace the social sharing buttons my theme came with.
I’m with Galen as well, Lori. Friendly and miraculous are certainly much more life-affirming than hostile and arbitrary and mundane (or whatever the opposite of miraculous would be!).
Any other life-changing beliefs you would add? 🙂
Ooops – it is MY ignorance on display Ken! I only saw the share buttons at the bottom and missed the ones at the top of the article!
I only have one life-changing belief to add and I’m not sure it’s life-changing! Life goes on. Life goes on and it does go on. There is something in that belief – hope?
Lori
Lori Gosselin recently posted … What They Don’t Teach Us in School
No problem, Lori. Most people look for such buttons where they’re supposed to be — right where you looked for them! 🙂 Hopefully, I’ll soon correct the problem. There are just always so many things to do, and looking for better share buttons hasn’t made its way to the top of my to-do list yet. 🙂
Believing that life goes on is definitely a life-changing belief for those who get so wrapped up in their problems that they think their pain is going to be forever. Have you ever encountered that? I’ve know people very close to me who truly believe at the time that they are in such agony and in such a dark place that they whole-heartedly believe the blackness of their lives is permanent. It’s then, trapped in that darkened box with no perceived escape, the utter loss of hope that things will ever get better, that some start considering a more permanent escape.
Thank you so much for the excellent addition. Yet another belief that can be so life-trajectory changing.
Thanks, Lori!
Do I know people like that? LOL, Yep! I’ve BEEN people like that! Barbara Coloroso teaches that when we teach kids that “there is no problem so great it cannot be solved” we protect them from suicide. I think we miss this wisdom that used to come from older relatives who were close by in communities years ago. I think it’s also one of the reasons we like to watch TV series where the show ends and the characters have resolved their problems and next show they just start all over again – because life goes on.
Glad to know where your share buttons are 😉
Lori
Lori Gosselin recently posted … What They Don’t Teach Us in School
I think that’s such a valuable point, you make, Lori! Older relatives can bring such wisdom to the table. And especially if they’re part of the Great Depression or WWII generation. They lived through a period of difficulty that makes everything under the sun seem surmountable!
I’m going to make that my new mantra I say all the time: There’s no problem so great it cannot be solved.” What I say a lot of (and my kids get tired of hearing it!) is, “It’s just pain … it’ll go away!” I usually use it on myself when I inevitably bump into something hard or scrape a shin or something. But it sends an important message to a generation of kids who can focus too much on the hurt and make a big deal of life’s little rug burns.
Hi Ken,
I love the way you have offered very practical explanations and applications of your message. It’s more than just knowing — it’s taking the actions that make change real for us. Thank you for your wisdom.
Hi Barrie!
So good of you to drop by. It’s true though, I was always that guy at church who sat and listened to a wonderfully inspiring sermon on doing this or becoming that and always wondered HOW?
There are certainly posts that are instructional or inspiring only. And those are fine and good. I have and will continue to have those posts. But we also need to share how to acquire the traits or develop the attitudes or take steps toward overcoming the things we talk about as well. It’s one thing to say that we need to be optimistic. It’s another thing to share how to develop what’s not there yet.
You certainly do that at Live Bold and Bloom, Barrie! And it’s deeply appreciated!
P.S. Meant to mention that your blog looks amazing! 🙂
Thanks! You were certainly instrumental in the change. Thank you so much for the input. I have to admit that I love it too. I relied on some extra wording (“live with purpose”, “grow with courage”, etc.) to broaden the concept and range of my writing rather than a name change to the blog. Just too attached to the name now! 🙂
Hi Ken,
Wonderful!!!! “treat life with respect and fill it with action.” I like this and it is very true. We have to like life and respect and appreciate it.
I use to think in my younger years that my life was about being a mother. Now that my children are grown I have become what I am today because of those years raising them.
Everyone is important because after all we all have a purpose and “God doesn’t make junk.”
Guess there isn’t much more i can say, because you did a WONDERFUL job saying what needed to be said. Thank you and have a very wonderful day and blessings to you.
Debbie
Debbie recently posted … 101 Reasons for Divorce
Hi Debbie!
Always a joy to see you here! And thank you so much for your kind words. You are always so thoughtful!
I like what you said about your mothering years preparing you for who you are today. Each stage of life is like that, isn’t it? One stage of life presents circumstances that if handled well and learned from moves us quite naturally to the next stage.
For example, I remember when my daughter was in middle school worrying about college. I told her that if she does what she was supposed to do in middle school, high school would be a seamless transition. If she did what she was supposed to do in high school, she would be ready for college as well. The problem, of course, is when we don’t learn what we’re supposed to learn and still enter the next phase of life unprepared for it.
I agree with you: God indeed does not make junk. It’s just so sad when we come to believe we’re an exception to that rule and live our lives as though he had!
Take care and be good, Debbie!
Ken, the belief I like the most is the one that says we can each make a difference. I watched a TED talk recently about a young woman who put an enormous amount of work into raising awareness for children sold into war in Africa. Because of her efforts, the cause made it onto the Oprah Winfrey show and President Obama signed legislation that ended this kind of child slavery in that particular African country. We each can make a huge difference! It takes writers like you and me to show people that they have that potential.
Steve-Personal Success Factors recently posted … Cut Through Your Problems Like A Knife Through Butter
Hey Steve,
The power of the pen (and keyboard!) is truly a mighty sword that can cut through so many of life’s horrors. It’s amazing what a person can accomplish if they but have a vision, the passion and the will to act. So much good and so many lives changed forever because of it. Thanks for sharing that story. Do you remember the speaker? I would love to look it up and watch it. Just love TED talks!
Thanks for doing what you do and adding your voice to the work of urging action in a world that needs more Steves around!
Nothing is more important than our beliefs. Beliefs create reality.
And yet in the world we live in today it seems easy to get lost in our ways. How can we make a difference? How much do I matter to others? Am I really capable of great things?
I think sooner or later we are all faced with these questions. For me, it comes down to telling myself the right stories. I learned this from a good friend who took every situation as a stepping stone – an opportunity for growth. And these could be very bleak situations like not getting a much desired job.
But clearly his belief in himself has carried him along.
It reminds me of that quote from Alice in Wonderland where Alice turns to the Hatter and says, “this is impossible.” The Hatter replies, “only if you believe it is.”
Chris Barba recently posted … Running the Philadelphia Marathon
Hey Chris!
I had forgotten about that line from Alice in Wonderland! Such a profound statement. We will all rise or sink to the level our beliefs about who we are and what life is and provides and what our limitations are in life will allow. Uplifting beliefs uplift. Limiting beliefs limit. If I don;t believe I can do a thing, I won’t take the necessary steps to do it.
I also like what you said about difficulties in life acting as stepping stones to other things. That is a powerful belief that kept your friend moving forward, as you pointed out.
I truly appreciate the insight you brought here, Chris.
Wow, Ken…already love your site…and have only gotten to a couple of articles. Will def be adding you to my Reader!
I love each of these insights, but especially the first. Even if that’s the only one we “get” it will absolutely transform our lives (as promised)!
The difficulty is that we know we’re supposed to believe that we matter, however when it comes to what we truly believe in our soul, that is a different matter. LOVE it!
Thanks for the great insight.
Steve Rice recently posted … Direction is Everything!
That’s awesome that you found time to stop by, Steve! Thanks for your kind words and for sharing your insight here.
I think you hit the nail on the head with your concern about the difference between what we know we’re supposed to believe and what actually ticks underneath the hood. If parents only knew the power they possessed and the damage they do when they send frequent little messages that their little ones don’t really matter that much.
For us older folk, I suppose the answer is in recognizing the disconnect and then to start reprogramming that message. That constant reassessment, never letting the little negative self-critiques go unanswered helps to reset the mental image.
But what do you suggest for unclogging the drains of our distorted self-images and replacing them with heart-felt concepts like, “I matter!”?
Great thoughts, Ken. I love your practical applications. One that I have been realizing more and more in my life is #4 Relations matter most. My greatest breakthroughs as of late have been seeing the infinite extent of my immediate relationships to friends and family. I spent many years hard-driving for success that resulted in an insular attitude. Simply being 100% present for others has proved to be a tremendously gratifying in ways I never imagined existed.
rob white recently posted … Showing Gratitude Towards the Whole
Thanks for sharing, Rob. We are all works-in-progress, aren’t we?
I think it is very easy to start thinking of the family as part of a team — the whole, “We’re in this together” attitude. On one hand it’s true — or best-case-scenario is. But then we start looking at life (pursuit of success or whatever) as a group activity, each member playing a supporting role, equally sacrificing for the good of the team, when in fact, each person in the family is still an individual with very unique and particular needs from each other member of the family.
It’s truly amazing what a tweak or two to an attitude and focus can do to change so much in our lives. I’m thrilled you are enjoying your relationships on such a deeper level now. Keep inspiring us with your words and life, my friend!
I feel like too many people lost value of relationships and put all their focus and desire into possessions. Having nice things is great, but having people who care about you, or just like you is something that no possession can ever take the place of.
Alex Mangini recently posted … How to Start Embracing Your Inner Talents…Before It’s Too Late
Hi Alex! Welcome and thanks so much for your added insight here!
You’re right. And the proof is in the lives of those who have tried to replace people with things. We are increasingly connected and at the same time disconnected, a sort of connected disconnectedness. We know more and more about a persons likes and dislikes, what they do and think and say as their lives are chronicled via Facebook, Twitter and texting and less and less do we really know each other. Stuff certainly seems to be replacing people.
In the end, when all is said and done, the things we buy won’t come visit us in the hospital or for the Holidays!
Thanks again for stopping by, Alex. And be sure to keep loving those around you!
This is a great list of beliefs Ken for radically transforming our lives. It’s so important to dig deep and remove, alter, change those limiting and untruthful beliefs that we have about ourselves.
Justin | Personal Growth recently posted … Salt and Fluoride are Killers for Spiritual Growth
Thanks Justin!
Couldn’t agree with you more. Have you read Jeff’s article on getting rid of the lies we tell ourselves at My Super-Charged Life yet? It tells a sort of flip side to this (and my next) post.
There is just so much garbage rattling around inside our heads and hearts that create all these large and small barriers to happiness and out true potentials. Unclogging our emotional and spiritual arteries is just as important to our lives as unclogging our physical ones.
Always insightful. Appreciate you comment, Justin.
Be good, my friend!
I believe you are 100% correct Ken and the other thing to believe is that it’s only just begun. There’s always more to come and it’s going to be better than before!
John Sherry recently posted … How Do You Coach Spirit?
Yes, John! I like that one: “It’s only just begun!” “There’s more to come.”
To the degree we believe we’ve peaked, our best days are in the past, we are now in teh sunset of life, to that degree we will no longer go out and seize life and wring out of it all its most juicy opportunities to live more fully.
Thanks for including those additional beliefs, John. You certainly improved the list with those gems!
You have some great beliefs listed here. I think that believing that you make a difference is especially important. It reminds me of the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Just knowing that being there and all your actions make a positive difference can really change your life around. I suppose that ties into the belief that life matters too. Just having these beliefs can change your course in life. You’ll start living more positively and think better about yourself. That can lead to a lot of good.
Steve recently posted … How to Be an Inspirational Communicator
Hi Steve, these are excellent thoughts! The belief that we can change, that our lives can be improved upon, that we are not permanently stuck like a still-life painting, frozen in time, unable to improve out circumstances, develop our character, mature our personality is so critical to our personal growth and self-esteem. IF we believed we were unchangeable, we would never try improving and learning and overcoming.
Every Christmas, we have a family tradition of sitting down together to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life.” We started it long before any of our kids were able to fully understand it’s message because we wanted it to be part of their thinking, the way they viewed themselves and life. There is such a powerful message in that film.
Thanks for sharing such awesome insight, Steve. You definitely added value here!
Good morning my wonderful friend….what a perfect place to start my Friday morning. This list of 5 beliefs is so very important for us to be mindful of every single day. It is worthy of taping to our bathroom mirrors so that we can get inspired as we begin our day. Belief that I matter absolutely needs to be #1…if we don’t embrace the belief that we, ourselves, matter, we can’t even begin to move onto the next 4 beliefs. The example that pops into my head regarding the importance of believing in oneself is, if you don’t take care of your physical health, if you allow yourself to get run down, sick and exhausted, you will not have the strength or ability to take care of others around you. We must first make sure that we keep ourselves healthy (physically and emotionally) so that we have the ability to care for others…the same holds true for believing in oneself…if you can’t believe in yourself, it will be much harder to believe life matters or relationships matter or that you are chock full of potential and that you CAN make a difference. I see # 4 as the item that gets the least amount of recognition…only because I think it is easy to take relationships for granted and, while we would cognitively agree that relationships matter the most, our actions may at times belie our statement. And there is such beautiful payback that comes with nurturing and tending to our personal relationships that make it so worthwhile to keep #4 in front of us at all times. That all said, my personal favorites from this great list are #3 and #5. I LOVE believing in potential…mine and everyone elses. We are almost limitless in our potential. Most often, the only thing that stops us is ourselves. We are so often our own worse enemy. We are creatures that are full of dreams, ideas, creativity and beauty. We need to constantly remind ourselves and those around us just how beautiful and exciting our potential is and to nurse that potential and allow it to blossom. Because if we realize our potential, intuitively it is natural that we can glide over to #5 and believe that we can make a difference. Believing in our potential potentiates (haha love when that happens) our ability to believe in our ability to make a difference.
This was a beautiful post Ken. Thank you.
And, finally….YAY!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! And, may I say that I am NOT at all surprised….I’m just wondering what took them so long!!! As soon as I submit this, I am trotting right over to nominate you for the best Personal Development Blog of 2011!!! I am so excited for you Ken. What a well deserved honor to be nominated (and, if I have my way, WIN)
Claudia
Claudia recently posted … The Art of Being a Gracious Guest
Hi Claudia! You are just too kind!
What a wonderful observation you made. Such an important point: If we don’t believe we matter, you’re right, why would we ever make strides toward the other 4? And I love the example you give. As for your favorites being #s 3 and 5, I’m not surprised! You have always been such a kind, thoughtful, upbeat and positive person. That you love to believe in your own and others’ potentials is so reflective of my impression of the type of person you are. And being in a helping profession, blogging about the things you blog about and leaving the amazing comments you leave, once again, suggests a wonderful person dedicated to making a difference.
And once again, thank you for your kindness and enthusiasm … and your vote! 😉
Sorry I’m keeping this reply so short. I’m a bit on the sick side and think I’ll go take a nap.
Have an amazing weekend!
PS: Oh, and thank you so much for your comments about Lori, Melody and me. You are a valued friend, Claudia.
Just a quick note to say that I hope that your weekend gave you time to relax and that you are feeling better!!
Claudia recently posted … The Art of Being a Gracious Guest
Thanks Claudia! It is helping. But with a 5-year-old rambunctious little boy, there’s only so much rest to be had. 🙂
Thank you for the well-wishes. That means a lot to me.
Hi Ken,
I love what you mentioned here. If we all believe there is great potential within us and if we believe in ourselves, we then can lead a happy and successful life. Wow, what great things we can accomplish Ken if we put our mind to it. We are all a gift to the world and we have a lot of things to offer humanity. Great post Ken, thanks for sharing my friend
Dia recently posted … Achieving your goals quickly
Hey Dia!
Thanks for stopping by. Always good to see you, my friend. I’m glad you found something you liked here!
So many people just don’t trust their own instincts. Through some combination of experiences, perhaps parental discouragement, they’ve come to doubt themselves. And so they shrink from opportunity and shy away from risk and never quite live the life they could have had. But you are so right about what can be accomplished by us. So much potential, often so untapped. I also like what you said about being gifts to the world. What an excellent way to think about ourselves.
Thanks so much for the added insight into this important topic, Dia.
Hi Ken,
I believe when we know that we matter all of the others become so much easier to believe and do. It’s that purpose we all want and need.
Hi Tess!
Agreed! To grow up believing you don’t matter changes everything. Everything. It changes how we encounter others and deal with life and interpret moods and life circumstances and attitudes and behavior. It changes how we look into a mirror and the meaning we attach to everything we experience. It sets the stage for how we feel and how we act and what we pursue in life or choose not to. It paints the backdrop to how we parent and how we love and how we accept others’ love. It creates the context for all do and see and become in life.
Changing that one perception. Believing we matter changes all of that. And opens a door to a degree of happiness those who believe they don’t matter can’t experience while they still hold that belief.
Thanks for the comment, Tess!
Ken, I love your outlook, my friend! One thing that helped me in my limiting beliefs was when I took the Strengths Finders test by the Gallup organization. Discovering my top 5 strengths gave me a look inside myself and I was shocked to find that many of the things I consistently beat myself up for were actually natural weaknesses (shock, which was okay) or potential for my strengths. Once I realized this, it was easier for me to accept myself and my limitations. And I was able to see strengths in others. Great post!
Bryan Thompson recently posted … 21 Bloggers Share their Most Powerful Christmas Memory, Pt. 1
That’s an important point you make, Bryan.
We all have strengths and weaknesses. But when we beat ourselves up for the weaknesses, we often start to downplay the strengths giving ourselves the overall impression that we are really just a bundle of weaknesses and ineptness stumbling through life.
I was watching an interview with Will Smith just last night during which he made the statement that we can’t do everything great. Greatness takes too much time and focus and concentration and effort. So to be great at a thing, he said, we have to focus everything on what we desire to become great at. I think that was a wise statement. We are all like that. We will always be a mix of strengths and weaknesses. Learning to accept the weaknesses while building on the strengths is a good game-plan for life.
Thanks for that awesome insight, Bryan! And thanks for stopping by and commenting, my friend.
Hi Ken,
thank for the great motivational post. I particularly like point 4 as I am a strong believer in social relationships. Even in business a relationship will eventually add so much more value (not even just interpersonal one, but actual financial value as well) to you and your business than simply just going through the motions and treating people just like the roles they occupy (customers, suppliers, etc.). You have to take them as they are and respect them for who they are.
I also like the positive outlook in your afterthoughts. Personally, I too believe in personal responsability and that we are the makers of our own destiny – thus our decisions in life shape our fate. And that it to maybe just even change your attitude to change your fortune can be easily tried with a little experiment: try smiling, simply smiling, for a whole day. You will be amazed how much positive feedback you get from your environment, immediate and intermediate. You will be astounded how much you will enjoy your day more than you would otherwise have. And finally you will be mesmerized by the fact that a smile actually changes your brain activity in such a way that hormons are enduced in your blood stream that will actually really make you feel happier.
So, thanks again, Ken.
Bye,
Lea.
Lea recently posted … Briefgold zur Entstehung von Gold
Hi Lea! So glad you stopped by and left this awesome comment. I just finished reading a book by Tony Hsieh of Zappos.com who makes exactly the point you’re making. His focus was on creating the right culture and working on relationships as an extension of the culture he fostered in the company. The result was a growth rate that was astounding during an economy that was worse than flat at the time dotcom companies being hit the hardest.
The studies out there about smiling are really pretty amazing. You make an important point about the effect smiling has on others moods and even on ourselves chemically. So I guess grandma was right when she would nudge us kids and say, “Put on a happy face. You’ll feel better!”
The first thing which came to my mind after reading the first belief is a quote by some wise man “Act as if whatever you do makes a difference, it does.” Great post, Ken.
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Hi Ken and contributors, what a great page, and succinct yet enlightening post around some key critical beliefs, thanks for this Ken I’ve added it to my “mission statement” which I’ll share shortly. I found your page while searching the weekend on the topic of Beliefs, Values and Attitude.
I’ve been on a journey for years on self development and learning to develop the right thinking for life. I’ve realised the extent that our THINKING has on our whole life, and with circa 60,000 thoughts a day the constant thought patterns engrain on us an attitude and outlook based on these thoughts be it positive and supportive of growth, or detrimental to growth.
I believe our thinking creates our BELIEFS (and our beliefs can help our thinking), our beliefs create our VALUES, our VALUES form our ATTITUDES, these determine our BEHAVIOURS and collectively determine our level of HAPPINESS. It’s more complex than this i know but I’m trying to keep it simple.
So on this topic, the point I’m getting at is how critical it is to have the right BELIEFS, as they have a knock on effect to everything.
The value I wanted to add here was that one thing that really helped me was writing a “mission statement”, motivation statement, mantra or whatever you want to call it. I got the concept years ago from I think the 7 habits of highly effective people. It helped me put down my thoughts…It’s so empowering to read and get started in the morning, getting your thinking in the right direction for the day ahead…
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s249/sh/fc47e18b-3076-487e-b3f5-34b8d3800fd4/c07ecd1c3f82290563f8c5f6f46c5cf1
Thanks again.
One of my primary beliefs is very similar to #3. I believe it is 100% possible for me to live the life I desire. I’m not talking really specific nitpicky things, but my highest values and desires. When you believe you can you go for it. When you believe you can’t you’ll never try. Great post!
Ken Wert, your exploration of empowering beliefs is deeply thought-provoking. Believing in one’s worth, the significance of life, untapped potential, meaningful relationships, and the ability to make a difference forms a foundation for a purposeful and joyful life. These beliefs shape our choices and pave the way for a fulfilling journey.