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In the belief business, it is important what you believe, so the major activity
is conversion to the "right" belief. In the creating business it doesn't matter
what you believe, but how well you create.
by Robert Fritz
______________________________
For years we have heard that what you believe will determine how well you
will succeed in life. So every year, people diligently attempt to change their
beliefs to ones that favor their success and limit their failure. There is an
entire industry that supports that cause. "You are what you believe," is
advertised with the certainty of a great mathematician adding two and two,
or a great French chef adding just the right amount of garlic to an order of
Escargot.
Yet, with all the hoopla, the premise is simply not true.
I know that just entertaining the idea that your beliefs do not form your
reality is heresy to people in the belief business. But, one wonders if any of
those folks have ever read the biographies of some of the most
accomplished people in history. If they had, and if they could put their
belief about beliefs aside for a minute and objectively rethink the dynamics
that are in play, they would find that the most successful, accomplished,
innovative, and creative people did not have positive attitudes and
thoughts, hardly ever thought that well of themselves, and were not filled
with a heightened sense of self-love.
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Shall we go down the list?: Mahatma Gandhi, Beethoven, Georgia O'Keefe,
Marie Curie, Amelia Earhart, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Elvis, Helen
Keller, Madonna, Mother Teresa, Babe Ruth, both Wright brothers, Thomas
Edison, Pablo Piccaso, Ernest Hemingway, Walt Disney, Shakespeare,
William James, Carl Jung, Fred Astaire, Chuck Yeager, Doris Day, Yogi
Berra, Clint Eastwood, Mohammad Ali, Mozart, Miles Davis, Louis Pasteur,
Ben Franklin, and on and on.
Maybe you respect a few people on this list. Well, guess what? They didn't
have high self-esteem. They thought all kinds of things about God, politics,
economics, philosophy, religion, the world, the universe. What they believed
was IRRELEVANT to their creative process.
If the belief industry were right, then these people should not have been
able to succeed. Yet this glaring fact seems to go unnoticed to those who
foster the idea that you can't be successful until you get your beliefs right.
Every year, well-meaning people, wanting no more than to be more
effective at building the lives they want, earnestly try to change what they
believe.
The theory goes if you think well of yourself, you will think you deserve
success, and therefore, not sabotage yourself.
People in the belief business will tell you that it happens BECAUSE of your
beliefs. But, hold on a minute. Does it happen to people when they are not
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filled with positive, visionary, and deeply held convictions? Well, go read the
biographies.
In the creating business, this type of phenomenon happens all the time. But
so what? To those in the creating business, it is nice when it happens, but
there is a lot more work to do, often the type of actions that are not easily
glorified because they are so straightforward and common.
But to those in the belief business it does matter because the phenomenon
becomes a symbol of the confirmation of their beliefs. They usually don't
describe the rest of the hard work that it takes to creating an important
result. There is no glory in that.
Types of Beliefs
There are several forms of beliefs.
For example, there are simple observations people often term beliefs. If I
can't fly a plane, and if I am a fairly sane person, I will rightly believe that I
am not a pilot. If I learn how to fly, I would change my belief (observation)
that I can fly a plane. Beliefs of this sort do not call for blind faith. In fact, it
is not blind at all to form one's opinions based on observing reality,
especially when the notion is held up to scrutiny.
This is the rigor that science tries to adopt. Ideas about what is going on
must come from a meticulous and precise empirical test of reality. Once
formed, such a belief can change in an instant if new evidence demands it.
These types of beliefs are seldom at issue in peoples' lives, except when
subjected to belief business techniques such as affirmations: "I can fly a
plane. I can fly a plane." Personally, I'd like to stay away from those who
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think they are pilots only because they are affirming they are. I want the
ones who have gone through the thoroughness of painstaking training and
testing, followed by years of professional experience.
Self-Concepts
Another form of belief is the self-concept. This is, simply put, the various
opinions you have about yourself.
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Here is what is happening in the inner workings of your mind when this is
going on, especially if you don't think the world of yourself:
In the belief business there is a lot of talk about "limiting beliefs." Nicely
phrased, indeed. It says it all. Certain beliefs you have will limit you.
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But, in fact, every belief is a limiting belief in
that it closes off other possibilities.
Of course, the belief business means "bad" beliefs, ones that are unwanted,
unfavorable, and critical. Who doesn't have a set of those in a back pocket
or two?
(For more about this subject, read the chapter entitled The Ideal-Belief-
Reality Conflict in my book Creating.)
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Not by changing your beliefs, but by
understanding the fact that they are, indeed,
totally irrelevant to the creative process.
What do you have to believe to want what you want?
Nothing in particular.
Nothing in particular.
Spiritual Beliefs
When the subject of beliefs comes up, sometimes people assume that
spiritual beliefs are being challenged. This is not the case.
Spiritual beliefs are personal. They have their own innate and intrinsic value
to your life. They are not connected to the creative process as evidenced by
the range of spiritual, religious, and philosophical beliefs successful creators
have held.
Therefore, what you believe on the spiritual level also is independent from
the creative process. Yet these types of spiritual beliefs can be enriching in
the life-building process as a path to a deeper and profound touchstone to
the source of life itself. It is only when people attempt to insist that without
the "proper" spiritual beliefs that one cannot successfully create the life that
one wants, they are ignoring the history of accomplished people who did
not share the same views.
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Remember the point of the creative process is to bring into existence a
creation: an outcome, a result, a goal, a quality of life. What you believe
will not make a bit of difference. It is only when your focus moves from the
creation to what it says about you, that you slip into an oscillating pattern.
And the irony is this:
In the creating business it doesn't matter what you believe, but how well
you create.
In fact, the central questions are: What result do I want to create? Where
am I now? And how will I move from here to there. No matter what you
believe, good, bad, or indifferent, you will be able to master your own
creative process, and use that mastery in your own life-building process.
_______________________________
During the past twenty-five years, over 80,000 people in 27 countries have
participated in trainings created by Robert Fritz. His insights on the creative
process and structural dynamics serve as the foundation of meaningful and
lasting change for both individuals and organizations.
Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline, says that Robert Fritz
"…is without a doubt one of the most original thinkers today on the
creative process in business, the arts, science, and life in general. His
work has deeply impacted my life and the lives of many of my
colleagues."
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This influence can be witnessed in the lives of countless individuals
throughout the world— and in the business practices of the many successful
organizations that have embraced Robert’s ideas.
To learn more about Robert and his work, visit his website:
http://RobertFritz.com
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