What if you unlocked the shackles of your beliefs? At the most basic level, a belief is just a thought you keep thinking. When you believe something, you accept it as the truth. What if you just started thinking a different thought?

We are so restricted by beliefs that we don’t even realize are controlling our lives. For example, I have a belief that I can’t sing. Not one single person has ever told me I sound terrible when I sing, but I believe it. What if I started to think and believe I could sing? I’ll work on that! I certainly believed at one point I could never start a blog because it’s out of my comfort zone, but here I am, writing this now. Even if I am making the most simplified attempt, maybe even muddled with mistakes, at least I changed the belief that I couldn’t do it.

Do you cringe when your electric bill arrives because you dread to see the amount you owe? That’s a belief in a lack of money. Do you cringe when you have an annual health exam? That’s a belief in a lack of health. Our beliefs create our paradigms, or programming as I like to think of it, and our programming is reflected in the the life we live.

Sometimes, I don’t even realize my own beliefs because I’ve been thinking a certain way so long. I heard someone suggest once that we can ask our subconscious mind to show us our beliefs. After doing that, I did start become aware of when I said “I think” or “I believe”, because whatever follows is a belief.

A belief I chose on purpose that has changed my life is everything is always working for my greatest good. Looking back over my life, even the terrible situations worked for my good. I also believe that I’m divinely guided, provided for, healed, and protected. It took a while to get to that point. I lived in survival mode for many years. I still flip back into that mode occasionally, but I’m aware of that feeling now and quickly overcome it.

Stop expecting bad things and believing the worst thought you are thinking. When you start thinking in a negative way, ask yourself, ” Am I a negative thinker or am I the one aware of the negative thoughts?”. You are the one aware! You really can change your thoughts and perspective by just being aware. Be intentional and patient. If you have been a negative thinker your whole life, it will take time to change. Pay attention to the way you speak to yourself. If you speak to yourself in a way that you would never address another person, it’s time to change that. Be kind to yourself as you would be to others.

I challenge you to start doing something you really want to do but you think you can’t do. Be willing to suck at something new. Over time, you will get better and better, and the learning and developing is the best part of living.