Elements of Happiness #5: Beliefs
The beliefs that you hold about yourself and the world are key to achieving happiness. Your beliefs are powerful. Your brain is like an old-fashioned record player, and your beliefs are like records that can be played on the record player. What records are in your inventory? What beliefs do you hold to be true? It is important to choose your beliefs carefully because your brain will play-out any belief that you choose. The consequence of a poor choice is emotional pain.
Your mind is constantly scanning the external world and comparing what it sees to your beliefs about what should be true. If you have a thousand beliefs about how exactly reality ought to behave, then you will likely be flooded with negative emotions. If, on the other hand, you have beliefs like “everything happens for the best,” “I accept reality no matter what,” and “reality is continually shaping me for my long term benefit” then you will find it easier to maintain a positive frame of mind.
Do you believe that math is hard? Some people make the decision that math is hard as early as 4th grade, then for the rest of their lives they consciously avoid math. Throughout their adulthood these people choose career paths that avoid math. This belief was formulated by a nine-year-old child and yet it had life-altering consequences. This is the power of an unquestioned belief.
What are your beliefs about happiness? Is happiness for you achievable? Do you have a large number of beliefs that trigger negative emotions in you? Any belief that you hold which triggers negative emotions must be challenged. Is this belief true? Unchallenged beliefs will not go away by themselves; they will fester and continue to produce negative feelings indefinitely.
December 13th, 2006 at 3:49 am
[...] Who are you? What is your identity? What are your beliefs about you? Who you think you are is critical to your happiness. Are you a singer? Are you a dancer? Are you a man? In your opinion how does “a real man” behave? [...]
February 6th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Miguel, you summed gem of the pursuit of happiness in the headlines of your website ‘Think Happy Thoughts!” An article titled the “Psychology of Happiness and Unhappiness” boils down the issue into Thinking! The article explores “the logic, mindset and thinking pattern of happy and unhappy personalities. According to Med Yones, the author , “What’s important is that with the knowledge of how your thinking is impacting your life, you now have a new alternative. By simply choosing to lead a happier lifestyle and continuously training your mind to think in positive patterns, you can improve your emotional well-being as well as the quality of your life immensely.” He also asserts that happiness is the product of our minds and that only through mind programming can we become happier. Programming, according to the study, is simply practice and repetition to develop positive thinking and emotional habits.
Thinking of it, it is really all in our mind! You can find more about the subject at:
http://www.lifehappiness.org/psychologyofhappiness/