The Success Principles Series – Believe It’s Possible
The fourth topic in the book “The Success Principles” by Jack Canfield is all about believing it’s possible.
Jack Canfield shares that scientists used to believe that humans responded to information flowing into the brain from the outside world. But today, they’re learning instead that we respond to what the brain, based on previous experience, expects to happen next.
In other words, through a lifetime’s worth of events, our brain actually learns what to expect next – whether it eventually happens that way or not. And because our brain expects something will happen a certain way, we often achieve exactly what we anticipate.
He explains that this is why holding positive expectations in your mind is so important.
When you replace your old negative expectations with more positive ones – when you begin to believe that what you want is possible – your brain will actually take over the job of accomplishing that possibility for you. Better than that, your brain will actually expect to achieve that outcome.
He shares that most people fail not because they lack the skills or aptitude to reach their goal but because they simply don’t believe they can reach it. It simply comes down to a matter of belief.
Recent studies have shown that the smarter you are, the more you might struggle to update your beliefs. In fact, your brain has at least two biases that drive this pattern:
- Confirmation bias – seeing what we EXPECT to see
- Desirability bias – seeing what we WANT to see
The bottom line – the purpose of learning isn’t to affirm our beliefs; it’s to evolve our beliefs. Begin to believe it’s possible to be, do, or have whatever you want and let your brain show you how to make it so.
The most important belief you can have is in yourself.
Source – “The Success Principles”