Do You Believe What’s Not True?

Do you believe what’s not true? No? Well, maybe you should…..

So, I’m on many different fellow marketers and entrepreneurs lists, and I happened to receive an email from a smart man by the name of Mark Manson. He sent me a message for which he spoke on a concept I’ve tried to explain to others, which he’s so eloquently coined:

“Believe Not What’s True, But What’s Helpful”

Well what does this even mean? And how does it apply to me or my business?
(you can read the entire letter here if you’d like, which is pretty long.. I’ll condense what I’ve taken way and the point from the article through the rest of this post)

Lets break it down-

What I’ve personally come to realize through the course of my life is that your own perception of yourself is the only thing that really matters. Because everything under the sun, regardless of the event, topic, proof or belief is “debatable” to some degree.

For example:

Everything we think and believe today at some point along the way we made the decision to buy into it, to decide it was true for us. This applies to everything.

You and I never actually saw the Napoleonic Wars. We didn’t witness the Holocaust or the Moon Landing. We just accept them on fact because enough people have said they happened.

(And sure enough, there are some loons who question that these occurrences happened. They’ve, once again, chosen to adopt different beliefs.)

Almost everything we know is secondhand and based on belief.

There is even plenty of scientific evidence which shows that our own firsthand experiences are very unreliable…. (So even when we are physically, personally there, our prior beliefs shape our perception of the actual event/s that took or have taken place. This is known as confirmation bias.)

Confirmation bias, closes your mind to seeing or adopting new beliefs or outcomes, because you’re already going into a situation with a mindset of what the outcome is to already be.

The point is, at the end of the day everything, from the Moon Landing, to the existence of God, to whether OJ Simpson did it or not…. Is DEBATABLE.

And the only thing that matters is what YOU PERSONALLY BELIEVE with regard to whatever the situation or topic is at any given time. Because it is though your own personal beliefs, which dictates the way in which you behave, and the Actions you take.

So why shouldn’t you just believe whatever you want?

Good question….

“The problem is that not every belief helps us. And some beliefs hurt us.”

How many times in life have you seen or met someone that you thought was extremely talented in some way. And based on seeing that talent you assumed that they must be very successful, rich or well respected. To then find out that, that individual was extremely insecure in their own abilities. And it greatly affected the way in which they interacted with others and hindered their ability to let their true talents shine through?

And on the flip side, you met someone who you thought was “average at best” at what they do. But was very confident in their own abilities, leading them to be very successful, rich and well respected in their field.

How does this happen?

Well this is a result of each individuals own personal belief in themselves and their overall self perception. And if you believe that you can, or that you can’t do something……. Either way, you’re right! (Really think about that for a second)

“A lot of times our problems are not actually problems, but rather symptoms of unhelpful beliefs.”

“It doesn’t matter whether a belief is true or not, what matters is whether it’s helpful.”

Believing you’re not good enough, talented enough, smart enough, or know enough to start, create or run your own business or do anything for that matter —

“may or may not be true in various circumstances. But they can never be proven one way or another. So why not assume they’re untrue? What do you have to lose?”

I know that reprogramming your mind to believe in starting something that everyone else my feel is “stupid” or “won’t work”, can be a hard thing to do. There is a process to building up your confidence in taking the first steps.

BUT

“The next time you feel stupid or insecure, ask yourself if that’s a useful belief to have.”

“The next time you feel incompetent or like you’re incapable of accomplishing something, ask yourself if that’s a useful belief to have”

The next time you feel something won’t work, ask yourself. Is that a useful belief to have?

“Because it doesn’t matter what’s true or what’s not. The truth is up for endless debate in most circumstances. So why not debate on the side that helps you?“

I Hope to have empowered you to think a bit differently today Start building your dreams: Forget what anyone else has to say about it.