What Core Beliefs Are And How They Affect Your Life.

“Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” – Gail Devers, 3-time Olympic gold medalist.

I was picked to be the president of my Toastmasters club after joining just 2 years before. Once the new year started, I felt like I was in over my head.

It had mostly to do with my imposter syndrome. At the time, I didn’t believe I was leadership material because I didn’t think I was good enough.

I learned that this belief of mine was only a mindset and can be changed through self-awareness and small wins.

What Are Core Beliefs?

Core beliefs are deeply held perceptions about yourself & how you view the world. They have the power to shape your life because they can influence how you think & behave without you even realizing it. There are 2 main types.

Intrinsic beliefs.

Intrinsic beliefs are internal. I’ll use myself as an example. In second grade, my teacher held an audition for a school wide dance performance. I thought I was going to be picked because she picked one of my friends, who I felt had the same dance skills as me. When she didn’t pick me I was so upset that I wanted to cry, but stopped myself. That experience made me believe that I wasn’t good enough.

Extrinsic beliefs.

An extrinsic type of belief is something that can be interpreted differently from person to person. For example, someone might appear shocked and upset to person A. But to person B, they appear surprised. Both A & B believed their personal interpretation is the correct one even though they were both different.

How Core Beliefs Are Formed.

Core beliefs are shaped, as soon as you are born, by your surroundings, the people you live with, what you were taught, your interactions with others, personal relationships, and your life experiences.

Throughout most of elementary school I would usually be one of the last students picked for kickball or dodgeball.

It made me feel embarrassed because it was obvious that my athletic skills were less than desirable and not good enough to be considered as a top pick.

How Core Beliefs Affect You.

Core beliefs can affect the way you think and behave in a positive or negative way.

Because I wasn’t a top pick for sports, kickball, or dodgeball, my self-confidence was shook.

For a long time I stopped myself from trying out for team sports and going after leadership positions.

Core beliefs and how you can change them

Why Beliefs Are Hard To Change.

Long-standing beliefs, whether they are positive or negative beliefs, can be hard to change because they are hardwired into us the moment we have consciousness.

I never felt like a leader before I became the President of my Toastmaster club. Even at work, I was the authority on oral hygiene, but didn’t feel like one because it was my license that said so.

I was the room parent and PTA chair at my son’s school. But I didn’t feel like a leader then because I was dealing mostly with kids and other parents.

It took a year to overcome my imposter syndrome and believe that I was leadership material.

How To Change Your Core Beliefs.

It took a lot of self-awareness and small wins to believe that I had what it took to be a leader.

After my first year serving as a Toastmaster club president, I gained a lot of confidence in myself not only as a leader, but as a person. The most important thing I learned during that year was how beliefs are really a mindset.

I learned that people are not usually born natural leaders. And most people are not naturally gifted at something. They have to put in time and effort to become confident, beautiful, strong, great, intelligent, and funny.

On the opposite end, people are not naturally bad at things. We fail all the time, and it causes it us to believe this about ourselves and hold ourselves back because we don’t think we’re good enough.

When a core belief doesn’t serve you anymore, holds you back, or limits you, you can change it.

This can take time and effort, but changing a belief can be done in 3 simple steps:

First, you have to be aware of your belief. You can practice mindfulness to help you increase self-awareness. You need to give yourself plenty of time to get the hang of it.
Once you’re aware of your belief, take action. Do this by setting a goal and breaking it down into smaller ones.
Once you accomplish a goal, celebrate it and give yourself a pat on the back. Your win reinforces the belief that you are capable and worthy enough. It keeps your motivation and momentum going.

Keep repeating these steps and before you know it, you’ve changed a long-held belief about yourself.

Last Thoughts On Beliefs.

In the movies we see a character do a complete 360 in their beliefs, in such a short period of time, and in such a huge way.

In my experience, I found that changing beliefs this way to be mostly the opposite because if we’re not ready to change our beliefs in a big way, it can be overwhelming.

Self-awareness and small wins are key to changing your beliefs because they feel more satisfying and believable in small, rather than large doses. It takes time and effort but the payoff is worth it.

Even though my imposter syndrome rears its ugly head sometimes, I no longer allow it to hold me back from doing things that intimidate me and your limiting beliefs don’t have to either.