The law of belief

The law of belief states that whatever you believe, with feeling, becomes your reality. The more intensely you believe something to be true, the more likely it is that it will be true for you. Your beliefs give you a form of tunnel vision where you edit out events that do no fit with what you don’t believe – psychologists call the “confirmation bias”.

For example if you believe that you are meant to b a great success in life, you are more likely to keep pressing ahead, letting nothing stand in your way. On the other hand, if you believe that success ins a matter of luck the  you will become more easily discouraged. Your beliefs set you up either for success of for failure.

People generally have one of two ways of looking at the world.The first is what is called a benevolent world view. If you have this view you generally believe that the world is a good place to live in and you tend to see the good in people and in situations. You believe that there is room for mistakes and you are primarily optimistic in nature.

The second way of looking at the world is with a malevolent world view. This view involves seeing the world in a negative way with a pessimistic attitude. Which one are you? This type of person sees injustice, oppression and misfortune everywhere. When things go wrong for them, which they usually do,  they blame it on bad luck or bad people. Most people swing between the two and at times we can all see the world in a malevolent way.

To counteract this negative world view – train yourself to look for positive things and acts of kindness in life. You can also start a gratitude journal and list three things at the end of each day that made you smile. This is called “priming” – forcing our focus in order to think differently and notice new things that may contradict our usual pattern of thinking. We can often easily accept that we are limited in some way (too ugly, too stupid, not able enough..we all have our self doubts)and this leads us to ignore any evidence that contradicts what we’ve already chosen to believe about ourselves. Choose your beliefs carefully – you can craft a great set to fall back on – why wouldn’t you choose great ones to further you in life?

Needless to say, people with optimistic beliefs tend to be more positive and cheerful. They have upbeat mental attitudes that enable them to respond positively and constructively to the inevitable ups and downs of life.

Mandy X

Author: Mandy Kloppers

Mandy is a qualified therapist who treats depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, trauma, and many other types of mental health issues. She provides online therapy around the world for those needing support and also provides relationship counselling.