Sometimes we act out of beliefs that are passed down to us from the media, society, or others that we know. These beliefs aren’t always intentionally accepted, but they can become a part of how we look at the world. When we don’t realize that our behavior is affected by what we think, a view like that is easy to miss. However, when the connection between beliefs and behaviors becomes clear we start to realize the importance of being intentional about our views. This means reflecting on the questions of where do beliefs come from and how can we form intentional, or better, beliefs?
Where do beliefs come from?
When I write about beliefs in this article I am talking about how we see the world and ourselves from different domains of life. For example, there are beliefs that we hold about our health and fitness. There are beliefs that we hold on finances. There are beliefs we hold about singleness and marriage. There are many categories I could name. In each one of them, the view we hold often times come of a variety of sources.
In my journey of personal growth it has become apparent that knowing where your beliefs come from is important. There are probably things in our lives that we believe, but perhaps we haven’t taken an intentional look at why we believe them.
A look at fitness beliefs
Let’s take a look at the domain of fitness. We all probably have thoughts about fitness that don’t really come from ourselves. One of these shows a limited view of how we think we should be active and exercise. As if there are one or two right ways and the rest are inadequate and therefore not of value.
Think about it this way. Many people have this default idea that working out means that you go to the gym. If you aren’t a gym person you probably don’t work out. Yet, you can work out in other ways. You can swim, or run, or join a dance class. You can do a lunch time walk or sprint up the stairs once every day. These things are also working out.
I bet you can come up with other ways to work out that fit you and your current situation. We can get to these ideas when we realize that we’ve been thinking about our workout from the wrong perspective. Perhaps it was someone else’s perspective that we adopted and it’s time to get in touch with what working out means for us.
3 Tips to Intentional Beliefs
An intentional look at what we believe is important as we go through life and aim to grow. To continue to do things in the same way as everyone else without reflecting doesn’t always lead to the best results.
Here are 3 tips towards intentional beliefs:
- Ask – Ask yourself how you came to this belief.
- Acknowledge – Acknowledge where your view originated. Is it from you, a parent, a friend, society, social media?
- Answer or Affirm– Answer that belief with a different one if it needs to change or affirm it if it’s a belief you have chosen.
Can you think of one area in your life where you have let outside influences determine your thoughts or beliefs about something?
Behavior Challenge: Reflect on areas where you might be struggling to grow and see if there are any beliefs that might be holding you back. Then try to answer that belief with a different belief.
For more reading:
One behavior change at a time.
