How often do you examine your beliefs? Spirit has encouraged me and my clients to do this more and more. I’m guided to do this in neither an accusatory way nor a defensive one. I’m reassured that this is not done because I don’t trust myself. It’s because I do. My beliefs aren’t just like me. They are me. There is a solid core of spirit inside of me, but everything else has changed between the time my mother first held me as an infant to the woman I am today. I have outgrown many toys and many clothes in my lifetime. It stands to reason, that I outgrow some of my beliefs as well.
I used to have a baby doll that I loved and treasured. I took her everywhere with me. One of my sons had a blanket. Another had a pillow. Some relatives had teddy bears. Many of us still have those treasures, whether consciously remembered or not, tucked away somewhere. If not in a closet, then in our hearts. We look at them or remember them and choose to keep them. I liken these things to core beliefs. They are the constant. The compass. The few.
But a belief closet holds so much more in it than that. Like all other closets, it can get crammed with the ages, and stages, and fashions of a lifetime. Cast a critical eye. Certain beliefs have expanded and need to be let out a little, or a lot. Others require a different type of alteration and could stand to be reined in a little more. Some need to be discarded completely and exchanged with something new.
Years ago, I discarded the belief that passion equaled drama. It was a belief that no longer served me. I exchanged it for the belief that drama is a yearning for passion. I don’t even know where the original belief came from. Sometimes, it is important to know where they came from. Is that really your belief or is it someone else’s?
"Beliefs are choices. First you choose your beliefs. Then your beliefs affect your choices."
- Roy. T. Bennett
I used to believe that struggles taught us lessons. I still do, but I have altered that belief. I no longer choose to believe that is the only way I, or anyone, is capable of learning or earning. Once I took the time to really examine my beliefs about struggle and strife, I realized how silly they seemed. Why would I enroll myself in a sadistic reform school, “Spare the rod. Spoil the child.” when I can go to a Montessori school or learn from Aristotle instead? This life holds an infinite number of schools and teachers. You can “only learn the hard way” if that is what you choose to believe. Why would you want to do that to yourself? One of my prayers now is, “May the rest of my lessons arrive in the form of blessings.”
When was the last time you cleaned out your beliefs closet? You might be surprised at what you find or where some of them even came from. You don’t have to clean out the whole closet in one day. It’s a constant process. Discard the tired, ill fitting, unattractive beliefs. Add new ones. Maintain the ones you value. Ideally the majority should fit who you are now and serve you as well.