The Birth of Excellence: Belief

Beliefs deliver direct commands to your nervous system. Handled effectively, they can be the most
powerful forces for creating good in your life. On the other hand, beliefs that limit your actions and
thoughts can be as devastating as resourceful beliefs can be empowering. Beliefs are the compass and
maps that guide us toward our goals and give us the certainty to know we'll get there. Without beliefs or
the ability to tap into them, people can be totally dis-empowered; with powerful guiding beliefs, you can
see what you want and be energized to get it. The more we learn about human behavior, the more we
learn about the extraordinary power that beliefs have over our lives

Belief is nothing but a state-a feeling of certainty-that governs behavior. The birth of excellence begins
with our awareness that our beliefs are a choice. You can choose beliefs that limit you, or you can
choose beliefs that support you. The biggest misconception people often have of belief is that it's a
static, intellectual concept, an understanding that's divorced from action and results. Nothing could be
further from the truth. Belief is the doorway to excellence precisely because there's nothing divorced or
static about it.

Beliefs come from a variety of sources:

1) ENVIRONMENT may be the single most potent generator of belief, on the one hand, supporting
environments that help foster beliefs about being "special.”

2) EVENTS, SMALL OR LARGE-like any personal events we'll never forget.

3) KNOWLEDGE is one of the ways to break the shackles of a limiting environment.

4) OUR PAST RESULTS-knowing you've already achieved the result you want before-just once is usually
enough.

5) CREATE IN YOUR MIND THE EXPERIENCE YOU DESIRE IN THE FUTURE AS IF IT WERE HERE NOW-
experiencing results "in advance."

It is important to remember that the potentials we tap, the results we get, are all part of a dynamic
process that begins with belief.

If you start with a belief system that stresses what you can't do, you tap a limited amount of your
potential, and you take half-hearted action, tentative actions, which will probably lead to dismal results,
and then what will these results do to your beliefs about subsequent endeavors? This is a classic
downward spiral: failure breeds failure.
On the positive side, however, if you begin by believing with every fiber of your being that you will
succeed, you'll tap lots of your potential, take massive action, and your belief in your ability to produce
even better results in the future will be affirmed. In this case, success feeds on success and each success
creates more belief and momentum to success on an even higher scale. Amazingly, sometimes just not
having a limiting belief is enough to ensure success, or to have an experience that disproves a particular
limitation.

Without taking control of your belief systems, you can raise your standards as much as you like, but
you'll never have the conviction to back them up. How much do you think Gandhi would have
accomplished had he not believed with every fiber of his being in the power of nonviolent opposition? It
was the congruence of his beliefs which gave him access to his inner resources and enabled him to meet
challenges which would have swayed a less committed man. Empowering beliefs—this sense of
certainty—is the force behind any great success throughout history.

I've classified beliefs into three categories: opinions, beliefs, and convictions. An opinion is something
we feel relatively certain about, but the certainty is only temporary because it can be changed easily.
Our cognitive tabletop is supported by wobbly, unverified reference legs that may be based on
impression.

A belief, on the other hand, is formed when we begin to develop a much larger base of reference legs,
and especially reference legs about which we have strong emotion. These references give us an absolute
sense of certainty about something. And again, these references can come in a variety of forms:
anything from our personal experiences to information that we've taken in from other sources, or even
things we've imagined vividly.

People with beliefs have such a strong level of certainty that they are often closed off to new input. But
if you have rapport in communicating with them, it's possible to interrupt their pattern of closing off,
and get them to question their references so they begin to allow for new input. This creates enough
doubt to destabilize old references and make room for a new belief. A conviction, however, eclipses a
belief, primarily because of the emotional intensity a person links to an idea. A person holding a
conviction does not only feel certain, but gets angry if their conviction is even questioned. A person with
a conviction is unwilling to ever question their references, even for a moment; they are totally resistant
to new input, often to the point of obsession.
Of course, fervent conviction is not the exclusive property of fanatics. It belongs to anyone with a high
enough degree of commitment and dedication to an idea, principle, or cause. For example, someone
who disagrees strongly with the practice of underground nuclear testing has a belief, but someone who
takes an action—even an action others do not appreciate or approve, such as demonstrating in a protest
march at the facility, has a conviction. Someone who bewails the state of public education has a belief,
but someone who actually volunteers in a literacy program to try to make a difference has a conviction.
Someone who fantasizes about owning an ice hockey team has an opinion about their desire, but
someone who does whatever it takes to gather the necessary resources to buy a franchise has a
conviction. What's the difference?

Clearly, it's in the actions that one is willing to take. In fact, someone with a conviction is so passionate
about their belief that they're even willing to risk rejection or make a fool of themselves for the sake of
their conviction

YOUR REALITY IS THE REALITY YOU CREATE THROUGH YOUR BELIEFS. CHOOSE THEM WELL.