One of my favorite quotes is by Henry Ford and it states, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you’re right.” The things we believe about ourselves can play a major impact on our thoughts, emotions and actions. Creating negative core belief(s) about ourself can cause us to live in fear, anxiety, shame, and depression. Many times, these negative beliefs are created through what I like to call false truths. False truths are events that have actually happened in our lives, whether done to us or by us, but we create a false belief system about them. These often show up in statements such as, “I am a mistake.” “I am a disappointment.” “I am not good enough.” “I am not worthy.” “I am failure.” These false truths prevent us from living in the freedom and acceptance that is so rightfully deserved.
Changing what you believe about yourself takes a combination of forgiveness, grace, and consistency. Forgiving yourself means you are no longer going to continue to punish yourself for past mistakes or things that have happened to you. It means accepting the past and changing future behaviors. Grace means giving yourself the freedom to be human and make mistakes; accepting you will not always get it right; learning that mistakes are beautiful as long as we learn from them; and recognizing that failures give us an opportunity to create a new plan. Consistency means implementing new behaviors in your life that align with what you want to believe about yourself and sticking to them. Sometimes these healthier behaviors may seem uncomfortable in the beginning, but consistent behaviors provide the evidence for a healthier positive belief system.
Both a negative and positive belief system require effort and energy. The only thing is a negative belief system results in punishment, whereas a positive belief system results in many rewards such as freedom, awareness, and relief. If you are going to put energy into something, why not gain a reward from your hard work?
