Hey All!
I hope you are all healthy and safe!
Last week we spoke about introspection, which took me down many experiences. One of them was identifying my core beliefs.
RECOGNIZE YOUR CORE BELIEFS
Our experiences shape our life and our mindset. It is a statement we all know is true, but do we understand the extent to which it affects us?
Especially our experiences in childhood. The shape most of our core beliefs. And these beliefs become a part of our nature, and we turn blind to them in our everyday life.
As a child, I had a loving relationship with my parents, a good circle of friends, and caring guardians all around me, which made me feel safe and sound, developing a core belief that the world is majorly filled with friendly people.
Oppose that to a child who had abusive parents and an unsafe environment. For them, the world lens is entirely different.
While much of our core beliefs are shaped in the early stages of life, major life events later also form or modify them. The beliefs are like a submerged iceberg. It's not in our sight but forms the base and reason for our everyday behavior. And identifying them can give us a way to mold it the way we want.
So how does one understand the core beliefs?
For me, the process has been long and took many years of introspection. I have always been someone who spent an hour a day just thinking about my day and actions. Why I felt something or why some else did something. It was only recently that I started connecting them in patterns.
I am very conscious of every reaction I have and link it to a reason. Which has given me a set of patterns that I usually fall into, making it my core beliefs. They can be as simple as "I am a likable person."
A structured and faster process is maintaining a thought record (a cognitive therapy tool) for a month. In this, every day, you record an event that triggered an emotion. Make three columns- A, B, and C. Where, A is the event, C is the consequence or your reaction, and B is what you believe is true of A that led to that consequence.
Example:
With each passing day, you will see patterns emerging in column B, even with varied events in A. These patterns form your core beliefs. Positive beliefs can boost your morale while you can identify negative beliefs to work on and modify.
Being aware of these beliefs also removes blind spots that are there on our world lens. We know why we react in a way and are conscious. It can help us be more empathetic and understand different points of view.
INSIDE OUT
In 2015, Pixar created quite a rage with its animated film INSIDE OUT. It was not only for kids but had significant lessons for adults as well. The movie personified our five basic emotions and, in a unique story, gave away the intricacies of our psychological functioning.
An essential aspect that the film touches on is the core islands. These are what defines a person, and our childhood experiences form the majority of it. These core islands are nothing but the core beliefs.
If you have seen the film, you can make the connection and if not do watch it soon. It's a movie that should not be missed!
If you try to identify your core belief, I would love to hear from your experience. Do write to me with any feedback or anything you want to talk about. I love connecting with you all and respond to every mail.
Until next week!
Gayatri