Beliefs – Results Matrix
WE sometimes wonder how we got where we are. That may be in business, in a relationship,
or in life, in general. Unless you’ve
taken a real interest in understanding how we humans work, then it probably
never occurred to you that there is a process that takes place each and every
time we act and get a result.
You see, most of us think life just happens. We want something, so we do what it takes to
get it. That “something” may
be a material object, a concept (such as money), or immaterial, like love or
happiness. To make this more tangible,
I’ve created the Belief-Results Matrix (BRM).
The picture below illustrates the concept:
Belief – All abstract knowledge is based on belief. All beliefs are based on that knowledge being true.
These beliefs can run from something as simple as, “All
people who are nice smile when you meet them” to as complex as “You
can never have anything nice because you don’t deserve it.” Our beliefs become part of who we are through
Examples set by parents and other authority figures when we
were young
Repetition of information, such as Group Think, advertising,
and peer and family pressure
Generalizing information.
If we had a negative encounter with a specific type of person, we may
generalize that all people who are like that person are bad. This is a belief.
Information Bias. We
may be exposed to limited information about a subject and, therefore, believe
the information we have is the only correct information.
Intention/Thought
I’ve grouped these two together because they are so closely
aligned. Let me explain from a
Neuroscience view.
In our brain, we have about 100 billion neurons and these
are capable of making more connections than all the particles in the universe. When we have a thought, we think we have just
one, or a few. In actuality, we have
many more thoughts than what we know.
The Executive Function of the brain in the Prefrontal Cortex does all of
the strategizing and planning. We have
an intention of the idea or outcome that we want. All of the thoughts generated by the
Prefrontal Cortex are funneled through a part of the brain called the
Thalamus. Of all of those thoughts, only
one gets through the Thalamus, and it’s the one we were intending and believing. Neuroscientists call this “Winner Takes
All”, because only the one thought gets through to our conscious mind.
So, we believe and we intend a thought. What’s next?
Feeling.
Some people, especially men, think it’s ridiculous to
believe that we have, or should pay attention to, our feelings. However, that’s what our bodies do, they feel
sensations. Some people feel their sensations
more than others and these people are called Kinesthetics. They literally check their feelings when they
receive information and before they give information to make sure how it
“feels”. But, we all do it to
some degree.
The real point here is that when we have a belief which
creates an intended thought, it’s for the unconscious purpose of creating a
desired feeling. Do Bill and Melinda
Gates want to give away their massive fortune?
No, it’s not about giving their money away. It’s the feeling they enjoy by doing so.
Unconsciously, every time we have a thought and are about to
turn the thought into a behavior, we check to see if the feeling we get is the
one we want. It may be that your child
broke your favorite possession and the anger flares up in you and you
unconsciously say, “Yes, that’s how I want to feel right now!”.
Behavior
Now, we’ve gone from belief to feeling and the behavior is
next. To carry on with our illustration;
You’ve said, “Yes, that’s how I want to feel right now!”, it goes
through your body and mind and you act accordingly. And, you will probably regret it later.
It doesn’t have to be negative. Again, Bill and Melinda Gates enjoy the
feeling they get when they see the good their money can do. You have experienced the pleasure of giving a
gift to someone from whom you wanted their love and affection.
Result
Here’s where it all comes together…the result. What this means is that what you have now in
your life is the result of the Belief-Result Matrix. It also means that if you don’t like any part
of your life, you can change it by going back to the starting point, your belief
about that particular thing. Change your
belief and you’ll change the result.
This isn’t the same as changing a habit. That’s still working at the conscious level
and can be overtaken by the unconscious at any time. Your beliefs run at the unconscious level and
can only be changed there. Let’s
consider a couple of examples:
If you’re in sales, then you’ve had the experience of cold
calling. If you have done any amount at
all, then you’ve encountered someone who was negative and rejected you. For most salespeople, they remember this
vividly and it causes them to hold back from doing this important
activity. But, what if that memory could
vanish and only good memories of cold calling came to mind? What if every time you were rejected, it became
a source of feeling empowered to move on to the next call? How would that change your business?
Another example: A
woman told me about wanting a Swatch Watch when she was young. She worked hard to save the money to buy
it. When she finally had collected the
funds, her dad took her to buy the Swatch Watch. When he saw what she was buying, he said,
“You’re going to waste your money on that piece of sh__?!!!” All the way into her 40’s she’s carried
around a guilt complex about buying anything that doesn’t have practical
value. Since then she’s denied herself
many things that most of us take for granted, such as a Venti Starbucks,
because, “It’s a waste of money”.
What limiting belief, what negative tape, do you have running
in your unconscious that, once removed, would change your life for the better? What result would you like to change in your
life?
Send me an email or give me a call and we can discuss how
changing one belief can change your entire world!
Please like, share, and comment!
Dr. Edward Lewellen is an expert in creating methodologies for people to learn to use their mind; their beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors, and put them back in control of their lives and become top-producers. He is a Master Executive Coach, leadership and sales expert, and keynote speaker for some of the largest global organizations.
Author of:
Life Mastery: The Fully Functional Life
