Beliefs are the rules we act on. Beliefs are a powerful system inside our neurology, stand in for knowledge, and help us to operate in an uncertain world where we do not have all the information. Without beliefs we would be paralyzed, literally.
Relative to outcomes, beliefs act as sails, anchors and rudders. Beliefs can be the engine that powers us forward, the brakes that slow us down or stop us, or the steering wheel that help to change course.
In a quantum sense, our beliefs determine the boundaries of the possibilities that will express themselves in our experience. Beliefs can open trememdous opportunities, or narrow our ability to perceive opportunities in plain sight.
The better acquainted we become with our own beliefs as forces in our lives, the better equipped we will be to abandon disempowering beliefs, and install empowering ones.
In NLP we recogniza that to support the achievement of a desired outcome, beliefs about the outcome should pass the PAW criterion:
- I believe it is Possible for me to achieve the outcome.
- I believe I am Able to achieve the outcome.
- I believe I am Worthy to achieve the outcome. I deserve it.
When these criterion are met, one is literally able to walk into the outcome. If any of these criterion are absent in a belief about the outcome, at some level we tend to find ourselves losing momentum or sabotaging efforts to achieve the outcome.
The good news about beliefs from NLP is that beliefs that do not serve one in moving towards and achieving a worthy outcome can be changed.
