Personal Beliefs

"Whatever you believe is true, it is the truth for you."

This entry is on the power of human thought. It is a truly powerful thing that many people have yet be able to understand or harness its power.

Do I mean that the truth is subjective? No... No matter how you think the sun rises from the North, it wouldn't. But what I meant is with regards to issues that are more important than that... It is not so much of a philosophical viewpoint, but a psychological one. What I do mean is not to underestimate the degree of influence of our self-esteem, confidence and beliefs on the outcomes of issues.

On a simple level, if you were to undertake a certain project that you think is doomed to failure, it is likely that you will not give your best to solve whatever problems that crop up. It'll be easy to miss opportunities and potential solutions, and to dwell in despair at the problems, which might not be so unsolvable at all.

Similarly, if you think that you're bad at something, you will not be motivated to do it well. You will likely suffer from low self-confidence, and be self-defeated by your negative thoughts. You will tend to notice all the negative points, and ignore the positive ones. In fact, the fear that your beliefs bring might be so strong that they might prevent you from even trying.

Sometimes, that makes the whole difference between the person who succeeds and the other who fails.

For example, if you believe that you are bad at studies, your mind would be tuned to picking up the difficult parts of the topic, and using that as "proof" to show that you can't understand the topic well, that it is too difficult for you. You then convince yourself based on the "facts", and quietly resign yourself to failure. On the other hand, if you have faith in yourself and your intellectual skills, you will pick up the simpler parts of the topic and try to build up your own knowledge foundation to understand the more complicated ones. In this way, these parts now transform from unattainable ideas to ideas that you have not understood yet.

It's the same thing in life. If you tell yourself that life is screwed up, I'm sure you can point out a millions things which are wrong in the world today. But if you believe that life is really to be celebrated, you can also find another thousand of things that you are enjoying and grateful for. It is all in a matter of perspective.

A person who convinces himself that he can't do it, can never do it. And granted, another who believes that he can do it, may not be able to achieve it in the end either. However, the difference between the two, is one lives in despair, one lives in hope.

The goal of psychology is to change how the patient perceives himself, and hence change his attitude in life.

Ever had the time where you were hoping so much that something wouldn't happen, and it did?

Are we so afraid of failure that we dare not succeed?

Be careful of what you think. =)