Do you believe?
That is probably one of the most powerful questions you can ever ask yourself. When people talk about the law of attraction or they mention the Biblical type of faith, they often get side tracked in the work of positive thinking. What I mean is that, to many, particularly to those who have tried and failed, the law of attraction or having faith simply means forcing your mind to think in such a way that it sounds positive about what you are hoping for. Positive thinking is good, it sure beats negative thinking. But it’s not the power behind the LOA or faith. Positive thinking is an important discipline, but it’s not magic. The “magic” is in the believing. And that’s where it gets tricky!
From the day you are born, you began collecting beliefs. We have so many beliefs that most of the time we are not even aware of them or how they are affecting our lives. And not all beliefs are created equal. Some are completely wrong and based on faulty assumptions and faulty conclusions. In other words, you can’t trust everything you believe.
If you believe the Holy Scriptures and understand that as your faith is, so it will be – (See Matt 8:13; 9:22; 9:29) – then you must understand how important it is for your beliefs to be true. Jesus told us that the truth sets us free (John 8:32), so how important is it to really examine our beliefs to make sure they are grounded in truth, rather than based on assumptions, fears, and traditional teaching? Think about it, how much of what you believe is based on solid truth and how much of it is there because someone told you (like your parents, teachers, pastors) or because you jumped to a conclusion about an experience? A good example of that can often be found in our attitude and beliefs about money. If you witnessed your parents arguing over money or you were turned down every time you asked your parents for a special toy because they didn’t have enough money – think of what you may currently believe about the commodity. You likely feel stressed out about it and come to the conclusion that “money doesn’t grow on trees,” and “you have to work hard for everything you have.” Those beliefs are based on past experiences, but are they true? What if you grew up in a wealthy family whose riches had been passed down for generations? You’d probably think money does grow on trees and you really don’t have to do anything to get what you want.
So here’s the problem with positive thinking – if you grew up in a family where money was tight and dad worked hard but barely made ends meet, you can turn on the positive thinking all you want and still live in a financial mess. You can tell all your friends that you are soon to be a millionaire and you can go out and start buying things and living like you already are a millionaire, but you will probably end up with piles of debt and a sour attitude toward faith or the law of attraction. Why? Because no matter how positive you think, if your underlying belief system tells you that money is hard to come by, then money will always be hard to come by! Your belief or attitude has to line up with your words and positive thinking! Otherwise, you are just spinning your wheels and getting no where!
I have recently begun challenging my own beliefs. As you may know, I am diligently working to learn the art of internet marketing because I have self-published a book and I want to make it available to anyone looking to improve their life, find personal satisfaction, determine their life purpose and live happily ever after. But I must tell you, it’s not easy. It’s probably a simple thing, to create an online business and have tons of people looking at your site, purchasing your products, and hanging on your every word, but for me, it’s not easy. However, since so many, many, many people have successfully accomplished what I’m attempting, I have to come to the conclusion that it’s not easy for ME, but it may be easy for those who have already been there and done that. If that’s the case, then the next logical question is, why? Of course the answer is obvious. It’s hard for me because I think it’s hard for me. You can tell that I really believe that because I said it just a few sentences ago (see the words in italics?). Jesus told us that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. (Matt 12:24) We would do well to pay careful attention to our words when we are trying to determine our core beliefs. Our words often give us away. But again, merely changing our words isn’t the answer either. We can think positive and talk positive and still not get what we are looking for. But you have got to admit, thinking and talking positive is still better than thinking and talking negative! It’s a great improvement, but it’s not the magic we are looking for.
So now, I’m on a quest. I am going to figure out the quickest and most easy way to change my beliefs! I think I have a good idea about that, based on what the Bible says, but as soon as I nail it down, I’ll let you in on my secret!
Related posts:
- Gimme some of dat opulence! If you really want to succeed, you must believe this:...
- How positive thinking changes your behavior Many people simply do not understand that the power in...
- Where the heart goes, the mind follows The mental processes of bias confirmation and motivated reasoning demonstrate...
- Changing your beliefs In my last post, I confessed that I sometime struggle...
- Adult ADHD and LOA If you have "tried" the LOA and claimed it doesn't...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
