Change Your Beliefs

Breakthrough Strategy Coaching Change Your Reality - by Jonathan Wells
JONATHAN WELLS
Jonathan Wells BreakthroughStrategyCoaching.com
Page 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
PART 1 ......................................
PART 2 ......................................
PART 3 ......................................
PART 4 ......................................
PART 5 ......................................
WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE TRUE

YOUR INTERNAL MAP OF REALITY
DEFENDING YOUR BELIEFS
UPGRADING YOUR BELIEFS
BEYOND THE MAP
Copyright 2012 by Jonathan Wells

All Rights Reserved
Published by Advanced Life Skills

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
whatsoever, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any informational storage or retrieval system for any purpose without
express written, dated and signed permission from the author.
For all inquiries please contact Jonathan Wells at
AdvancedLifeSkills.com or BreakthroughStrategyCoaching.com
Disclaimer: None of the information contained in this book should be
construed as a claim or representation that this book, Advanced Life
Skills, Breakthrough Strategy Coaching, Jonathan Wells, or any of the
techniques, advice, or exercises contained herein is intended for use in
the diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of any physical, mental,
or emotional disease or medical condition. When dealing with any
medical or mental health condition always consult a physician or
mental health professional. The content of his book is intended for
informational purposes only.
.
Book design by Jonathan Wells
ISBN
1453843337
Page 2
CHANGE YOUR BELIEFS - CHANGE YOUR REALITY

By now, everyone has heard the favorite quotes from the Law of Attraction
movement. You know the ones I mean, like
Whatever your mind can conceive and can believe, it can achieve.
~Napoleon Hill
Whatever we think about and think about we bring about.

~John Demartini
Whether you think you can or cant either way you are right.
~Henry Ford
Those are great quotes for sure, but have you ever wondered how your
beliefs actually create your reality? Do you think there is a logical
explanation for this phenomenon, or is it some kind of secret cosmic
mystery?
If you cherish your cosmic mysteries then this might be a good place to stop
reading. Why? Because I like logical explanations, and thats where we are
headed.
It all starts with
Part 1:
What We Believe to Be True
Our personal beliefs play a huge role in how we view our own life. Your
estimation of your successes and failures will depend entirely on the
framework of your personal beliefs. Our beliefs provide a structured process
through which we evaluate everything in our lives.
We develop our personal beliefs about reality based on how we interpret the
world around us according to our observations and experiences. There are
two major components or aspects that contribute to your personal beliefs,
an emotional component and a logical component.
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The blending of logic and emotions
.
In some cases, a belief starts out much like a theory. Assumptions are made
based on logical observations and deductions. In other cases, a new belief
grows out of an emotional viewpoint that seems to be supported by logic.
Its the blending of these two major components that form the basic
structure of our personal beliefs. Through the window of these beliefs, we try
to make sense out of the things going on around us. We also use them to
form assumptions about probable future results.
Accepted as facts
.
Once established, beliefs are accepted as fact and are rarely subject to
scrutiny. They become our personal operating system. Much like the
operating system on your computer, our beliefs control how we sort and file
every bit of input data.
Everything we see, experience, think and feel is adjusted to fit with our
beliefs. In other words, our version of reality is a creation of our beliefs. Our
personal operating system disassembles and reassembles all input data to
conform to what we believe.
This is not a conscious process
.
Many of our beliefs were established in childhood and have outlived their
usefulness. Others are leftovers from situations and circumstances that are
no longer relevant. Why is this important?
Well, imagine trying to run your current software on an ancient version of
windows, or some other obsolete operating system. The results would not be
very satisfying. The same could be said of obsolete belief systems that are
still influencing how we evaluate everything in our lives.
Beliefs need to be upgraded
.
As we learn and grow, many of our former beliefs will no longer serve us.
They have outlived their usefulness. In a few minutes we will look at some
effective techniques for Upgrading Your Beliefs.
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Before we get to that, its important to understand how our beliefs impact
our current perspective. Thats what we are going to look at next as we
consider your current view of Reality
.
Understanding that the mind is only creative can help us grasp the power of
beliefs. George Orwell once said that myths which are believed in tend to
become true. This is especially true on an individual basis.
By now, most of us realize that our perception of reality is heavily influenced
by our beliefs, but the full extent of this influence is often underestimated.
Each of us has a variety of methods for altering our reality so it conforms to
what we believe to be real. Each of us is a reality alteration expert.
So, it is clear that our beliefs provide a structured process through which we
evaluate everything in our lives. Now its time to take that concept a step
further and look at the influence of your beliefs on
Part 2:
Your Internal Map of Reality
From the moment you entered this life, your subconscious mind has been
busy collecting and processing information. Combined with your experiences,
this information is used to create your beliefs about who you are as a
person, and how you fit into the world around you.
Because these beliefs are based on your evaluation, and emotional
conclusions of your personal experiences, they are accepted by your
subconscious as being absolutely true. Your subconscious mind then uses
these personal truths to construct your personal version of the real world.
In other words, your beliefs become the foundation of your internal map of
reality.
To the mind, your map is reality!
The way in which your map is constructed will determine many aspects of
your life. It will be a major determining factor in your success or failure,
your happiness or unhappiness, and your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with
your entire life experience.
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Remember when people believed that the world was flat? That belief
completely changed the way they viewed and interacted with their world. It
didnt matter that the world was really round. They believed it was flat and
that belief had a powerful influence on their version of the real world. It
changed the way they interpreted the facts.
We customize the facts to fit our map
If we have created a map where opportunity is everywhere, thats what we
will see. When our map is based on opportunity, we wont view challenges as
obstacles because that wouldnt harmonize with our map. So we interpret
the facts in a way that allows them to fit in with, and support, our internal
map of reality.
Heres the catch. For most people the way the map creates their reality on a
day to day basis is completely outside of their conscious awareness. And
because the process takes place on a subconscious level, they dont see how
they are creating their own reality. Instead of feeling like something they
created, it seems like its coming from an external source.
The map is not reality!
We also create an emotional attachment to our map. Its our personal
version of what is real and we have a vested interest in verifying its
accuracy. We want it to be real because its familiar, and that makes us feel
safe and secure. This is why we are willing to distort, or even ignore, almost
anything that might undermine our map.
Despite our best efforts though, sometimes our map of reality comes
unraveled. Usually this involves emotionally charged events that dont fit the
map, and cant be ignored.
Its like basing your map on a flat world, and then discovering you were
wrong. Now your world doesnt make sense anymore and your map falls
apart.
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You are not the map
For personal growth to occur, the map needs to be redrawn from time to
time. The reason this change feels scary is because most people dont realize
that its only a map. They feel like their actual reality is imploding. Like their
life is coming completely unraveled.
What is actually happening is their map is being updated to include new
information. Being aware that its just a map, and not actual reality, makes
it much easier to just let it happen. We know that the old map no longer
serves us, and that the new one will. But this awareness requires the
acknowledgment that we are not the map, and that we create the map
based on past beliefs.
New beliefs are the key to a better map
Updating our beliefs automatically changes our map. This is how we create a
more pleasing version. When we systematically dismantle our limiting
beliefs, and replace them with empowering beliefs, the topography of our
map will conform.
When we replace self-doubt with self-confidence, fear with curiosity, or
pessimism with optimism, our map will rearrange itself to support those
beliefs. The world around us will look and feel different, and we will be more
comfortable with our place in it. We will have created a better internal map
of reality.
Letting go of the old map
Next, we are going to take a closer look at how we alter the meaning of our
experiences to fit our map. We will also discuss how we attract people and
situations into our life in an effort to verify the correctness of our version of
reality.
On a subconscious level, each of us is convinced that our beliefs are both
true and accurate. After all, they must be correct, otherwise why would we
choose to believe them, right?
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Heres how the dictionary defines Belief: Acceptance by the mind that
something is true or real, often underpinned by an emotional or spiritual
sense of certainty.
We started out talking about how our beliefs provide a structured process
through which we evaluate everything in our lives. Next we saw how our
beliefs become the foundation for our internal map of reality.
Now its time to take a closer look at how we subconsciously alter the
meaning of our experiences and relationships to make sure they fit our map.
We will also discuss how we attract people and situations into our life in an
effort to verify the accuracy of our version of reality.
Part 3:
Defending Your Beliefs
Do you know what the granddaddy of all human emotions is? Every person
on the planet has an inherent and insatiable desire to feel safe and secure.
Efforts to fill this desire shape the actions of individuals and the course of
world events.
This is why we are subconsciously programmed to make reality fit our core
beliefs about who we are and what we deserve. When our perception of the
world validates our beliefs, we feel secure in the fact that our view is the
correct one.
Limiting or empowering, it doesnt matter!
As odd as it might seem, we work just as hard to validate our limiting beliefs
as our empowering ones. Why would we do this? Remember, the process
takes place on a subconscious level. Our subconscious does not analyze a
belief to see if its appropriate or not, it just bends reality to make it fit.
Do you see the possible consequences here to our sense of self-worth? If our
limiting beliefs seem to be supported by every experience, how likely are we
to overcome those beliefs? All the logic in the world is no match for real
world validation provided by our version of reality.
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3 Ways we bend reality
Lets consider the three primary ways that our subconscious adjusts how we
experience life so that those experiences conform to our map of reality.
1) Attraction. We will attract, and be attracted to, people who confirm our
beliefs. This is why some people experience one bad relationship after
another. They continue to be attracted to people who affirm their limiting
beliefs about themselves.
Something deep inside them believes that they dont deserve to have a
happy, meaningful relationship. This same something is irresistibly
attracted to, and attracts, the very person who will validate their perceived
worthlessness.
2) Interpretation. We already talked about how our internal map of reality
is based on how we interpret the events and situations in our life. If our map
says that life is wonderful, then our interpretations, and our map, are
empowering.
What if our map says everyone is out to take advantage of us? Then we will
misinterpret the events in our life to fit our map. Perhaps we will take
neutral experiences and put a negative spin on them. We may read negative
messages into harmless conversation, or unkind motives into a meaningless
glance.
If we are convinced (believe) on a subconscious level that people are out to
get us, then we will find ample evidence in the world around us to confirm
that belief.
3) Denial. What if we believe that nobody likes us, and then someone starts
being kind, and treating us like a friend? Wouldnt that convince us that our
belief is wrong? Yes, on a logical level it would, but beliefs are usually
immune to logic.
So, how might we respond to this friendly input that doesnt fit with our
nobody likes me map? In a word, denial. We would simply respond in a way
that corresponds to our negative beliefs about our self. See where this is
headed?
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If we ignore their attempts at friendship, and treat them as someone whos
out to get us, what will they finally do? Eventually, they will begin to act in a
way that confirms our limiting beliefs, providing validation for our map.
How do we change a limiting map?
As you can see, if our internal map of reality is built on limiting beliefs, life
becomes a great big negative reinforcement loop. So, the question remains,
how do we create a new map that serves us?
The bottom line is this: when you change your beliefs, you change your
map. Building your internal empowering beliefs will transform the way you
experience your life. This will be the subject of part 4: Upgrading Your
Beliefs.
If our beliefs create our reality, doesnt that open up a whole world of
possibilities? So, the next question we should be asking ourselves is: What
kind of reality have I created? Simply by asking that question we are
actually accomplishing two important steps. First, we are acknowledging our
creative ability, and at the same time, we are accepting responsibility for
current reality.
So far we have examined several fundamental ways in which our beliefs
influence our reality. One thing that should be abundantly clear by now is
the fact that the quality of our life is a reflection of the quality of our beliefs
about who we are, and what we are capable of.
Knowing that empowering beliefs create a desirable reality, and limiting
beliefs do the opposite, is a good place to start. Obviously, the next step
needs to be learning how to eliminate the beliefs that dont serve us, and
replace them with beliefs that do. Which brings us to
Part 4:
Upgrading Your Beliefs
There is an essential first step that must be taken before we can even think
about upgrading our beliefs. Do you know what that step is? Its simple
really, we need to identify our current beliefs and figure out which ones need
an upgrade.
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On the surface, this sounds easy enough. But beliefs are shrouded in all
kinds of confusing disguises. In fact, have you ever noticed that the word lie
is at the center of the word belief? So, how do we get around the deceptive
power of our limiting beliefs?
Look at the results!
The easiest way to identify our own limiting beliefs is to look at the results
they produce. Any area in our life where we are producing good results is
probably anchored to an empowering belief. Likewise, any area in our life
that is plagued with unsatisfactory or frustrating results is likely anchored to
a limiting belief.
The results we produce always reveal the underlying beliefs. Now its time to
examine and list those areas, along with the beliefs and feelings that support
them. These areas are currently emotional liabilities. They are the beliefs
that limit you, and need to be changed.
Identifying your limiting beliefs
Apply the following 7 questions to every area of your life that leaves you
feeling limited, incompetent, unqualified or afraid. Make a list that includes
the unfulfilling activity, and the limiting belief associated with the negative
feelings behind it.
1) What do you feel you are not very good at, and why do you think
that is so?
2) What areas of your life leave you feeling incompetent or unqualified
and why?
3) What new activity are you afraid to try, but would like to? Why do
you feel afraid?
4) What is your least favorite activity, and why do you dislike it so
much?
5) In what area do you want to improve, and what do you feel is
holding you back?
6) What do you avoid helping others with, and why do you feel unable
to help them?
7) When you want to make a good impression, what do you try to
hide, and why?
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Dismantling these limiting beliefs
To begin dismantling your limiting beliefs, you need to link them to a painful,
negative, emotional anchor. The more painful the anchor, the more effective
it will be. Start by asking yourself some pointed questions about each belief
such as:
1) What price have I paid because of believing this?
2) How is what I believe affecting me financially, physically and emotionally?
3) Why did I get anchored in this limiting belief to begin with?
Continuing to question the validity and consequences of any limiting belief
will expose a wide array of negative emotional anchors for those beliefs.
Once they come to represent pain, it becomes much easier to move away
from them and move toward more empowering beliefs.
Look for empowering replacements
Next, ask yourself a few simple questions.
1) What would I have to believe in order to succeed in this area of my life?
2) What would I have to do differently in order to produce the results I
want?
3) Which of my existing, empowering beliefs can I apply to these areas of
my life?
As you answer these 3 questions, allow yourself to develop a sense of
certainty that, by changing your beliefs, you will be able to produce positive
results. Make a list of these new beliefs so you have them as a reference.
Review this list often, especially if you find yourself slipping into a negative
mindset.
Look for improved results
Adopting these new empowering beliefs will change the results you produce.
In turn, being alert to those changes will help reinforce and validate your
new beliefs. Soon, your new beliefs will be totally accepted into your
subconscious and be reflected in your new internal map of reality.
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Next, we are going to look at the amazing possibilities that exist at the next
level of creating your reality.
Up to this point we have focused mainly on the role of our internal map of
reality. We have also talked about how our beliefs serve as our internal map
makers. Learning to create a reality that empowers us, rather than limiting
us, is certainly a powerful and advanced life skill. This skill, perhaps more
than any other, has the ability to totally transform the quality of our lives.
But wait, theres more!
Creating an internal map of reality based on empowering beliefs is definitely
something everyone should endeavor to do. With that said, I dont want you
to conclude that mastering this ability constitutes the final frontier, because
it doesnt.
In fact, the real key to a life of wonderment and awe is not found within the
confines of an intricately detailed map of reality where every square inch is
ruled over by some established belief. That wouldnt be much fun! The real
key to such a life actually lies
Part 5:
Beyond the Map
The problem with being too locked in to a minutely detailed map is that
everything is (seemingly) accounted for. Perhaps this point can be best
made by looking at our earth.
What happens to peoples perception in areas where every square inch of
land is accounted for? Dont they tend to live by, and be restricted by,
precisely drawn boundaries? And doesnt that reality have a way of fostering
preconceived ideas about how things are supposed to be? To a large extent,
those boundaries put very real limits on their life experience.
A different perspective
Now, what happens to our perception of the earth when we view it from
space? About the only boundaries we can still see are the continents and
oceans. And from that vantage point, what is our impression of the planet?
Page 13

Its beautiful, right?
The point is, too many details and boundaries tend to shrink our focus. They
can easily blind us to the beauty that surrounds us. If everything is precisely
defined, we can quickly lose our sense of wonderment and awe.
Balancing boundaries
What does it take to experience life in a productive and meaningful way, and
still maintain our sense of discovery and adventure? At what point do the
boundaries on our internal map of reality cross the line from empowering to
limiting?
We started by establishing the fact that it is our beliefs about who we are,
and what we are capable of, that are either empowering or limiting. So, once
again, it all comes back to how our beliefs create our reality. Only this time,
we are looking at the concept of limiting and empowering from a completely
different angle.
Treasure Hunting
When you think of a treasure map, what kind of image does that conjure up?
Usually, its a map with some notable place markers, but not too many
details. At least thats how it is in the movies!
Finding the treasure always involves an adventure of discovery. The treasure
hunters have barely enough details to keep them moving in the right
direction. Everything else is discovered along the way. Its an adventure that
keeps them fully engaged and living in the moment.
Your internal treasure map of reality
For life to be an adventure of wonderment and awe, we need to treat it like
a treasure hunt. We need our empowering beliefs to keep us headed in the
right direction. To maintain our sense of adventure, we also need to avoid
the trap of too many precise boundaries and preconceived ideas.
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Living beyond the map does not mean that we dont have a map. It means
that we choose to discover the details along the way, rather than try to fill
them in ahead of time. It means approaching situations, people, and
experiences with a sense of open curiosity. It means that we look for the
treasures that are unfolding with each new day.
A shift in perception
When we are truly empowered by our beliefs, life gets simpler. We tend to
let go of judgments and expectations, and replace them with compassion
and curiosity.
When we look at the earth from space, there are no national boundaries,
conflicts, agendas, or disappointments. There is only beauty! Once we learn
to view life from beyond the map, its pretty much the same scenario. Its a
beautiful treasure of wonderment and awe. This can be your reality!
Jonathan Wells is the owner and founder of Advanced Life Skills, the CEO and
founder of Breakthrough Strategy Coaching, and the author of TRUE SELF.
Want to learn more?

http://BreakthroughStrategyCoaching.com
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Breakthrough Strategy Coaching Change Your Reality - by Jonathan Wells

Jonathan Wells BreakthroughStrategyCoaching.com

Breakthrough Strategy Coaching Change Your Reality - by Jonathan Wells

WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE TRUE

Copyright 2012 by Jonathan Wells

Published by Advanced Life Skills

Jonathan Wells BreakthroughStrategyCoaching.com

Breakthrough Strategy Coaching Change Your Reality - by Jonathan Wells