Evidence

      At first glance the term evidence may or may not have good conations.  Most of the time when that word is used it is associated with an alleged crime.  You will see a headline such as there was overwhelming evidence that the defendant was present at the scene.  You may see a headline that the evidence exonerated the defendant from being the person who committed the crime.  However, that is not the angle that evidence will be used in this article.  In this article evidence is tied to your mind and the tremendous job it does every day of your life.

     One of the subconscious tasks that your mind accomplishes every day is finding evidence.  To understand this statement, you must first agree with a few facts.  Your mind is a great asset because it works for you even when you don’t realize that it is working.  That work usually happens at the subconscious level which explains why it may go unnoticed.  

      As human beings we all have beliefs.  Some of those beliefs were passed down to you from your parents.  Some of those beliefs have developed from your experience on this Earth.  You also have some beliefs that you clearly know exist and some beliefs that are there but you do not realize you have.  Those beliefs are buried deep in your subconscious.

      Along with beliefs we all have desires.  Some of those desires have to do with change. While other desires may have to do with staying the same.  As with beliefs some of your desires may have been passed down to you and other desires exist based on your experience on this Earth.  Regardless of where the desires originated, some are acted upon while others may lay dormant.

Beliefs and Desires

      When it comes to your desires you will have beliefs that are associated with them. It is critical to acknowledge that because those beliefs have an undeniable impact on your ability to manifest those desires.  In order for you to manifest your desires your beliefs must be aligned to support the realization of those desires.  Your beliefs must be aligned because your mind will do everything in its power to provide evidence that your beliefs are accurate.

   As Henry Ford most famously stated, “Whether you believe you can or you can’t, you are right.”  Your mind will work hard to point out evidence of your beliefs because you mind always wants you to be right.  By deciding whether you can or can't do something you may be unknowingly deciding the outcome of your efforts regardless of your desire.  

We all Have Different Beliefs      

     Let’s face it.  The majority of all the things in life are not cut and dry.  Some things can be interpreted as good by one person and bad by another.  The same environment can feel cold to one person and not cold to the other person. Someone can pay 1 million dollars for a vintage bottle of whiskey while another person would only see the value as 5-10 thousand dollars.  All of those differences are ultimately tied to what that person believes.

      Since your mind is protecting your beliefs it will focus its energy on finding evidence that your beliefs are correct.  That is why two people can see the same situation and both have a different opinion on the meaning of that situation.  Without this truth there could never be a debate. However, it is easy to see your beliefs when you are engaged in a debate.  You can also easily provide the evidence of your view point.

        What is more difficult to see is how your beliefs impact your daily life and the evidence you ultimately see that validate your beliefs.  For example, if you have a belief that most rich people are corrupt your mind will work hard to provide evidence of that belief.  You will be drawn to the news article of the corrupt billionaire.  Conversely, you will not pay any attention to the article about the billionaire who built their entire company providing value to their customers and are now giving back millions to the community.

         Where this may become a problem is because you have this belief and now you have seen evidence you will not trust rich people.  Because of that lack of trust, you run the risk of missing an opportunity to benefit from the good rich people that are out there.  Yes, some are corrupt but not most (this is a different belief).  By missing this opportunity, you have actually harmed yourself versus protecting yourself.

       Yet you may have the desire to be financially free yourself.  Because of your beliefs you have missed an opportunity to work with a rich person who could help you obtain your desire.  In your mind you are saying I don’t want their help because they may be corrupt.  You may be thinking that when you get rich you won’t be corrupt like them.  Yet because of your beliefs and the evidence you see, you are unintentionally impeding your path to success.

Questions You Should Ask

        This is a small, theoretical example that may or may not relate to you.  In order to reflect on your beliefs, you need to take some time to acknowledge the things that you are drawn to.  Who do you trust?  Who don’t you trust?  What news articles do you find yourself drawn to? What do you find yourself complaining about?  What are some things you often say about yourself?  

       When you answer all of those questions you will start to see the beliefs that you have and the evidence that you are receiving to validate them.  However, if those beliefs aren’t making your life better there is a great chance that there is plenty of evidence of an alternate belief that could improve your life.  In my humble opinion the most important belief that you can ever have is to believe that you can improve your life.

      Take a moment to reflect on the evidence you see that proves something is true.  Is it aligned with a belief that is serving you?  Is it aligned with a desire that you want to achieve?  If it is not you need to change your beliefs.  

      Do you get discouraged when you don’t achieve a desire that you have expectations of achieving?  Achievement of the desire is the ultimate evidence that you can achieve, however are you missing the evidence of completing a smaller action that you know is moving you closer to that desire?  What if you stop focusing so far out and begin to focus on the smaller day to day actions? By doing this you will find you have plenty of evidence to support the belief that you can achieve your desire.

      In order to have success in life you must understand how your mind works.  Your mind is a great asset because it works to protect you and it does that job tremendously well.  You can clearly see that evidence.  However, what you may be missing is the understanding of the beliefs that you have in your subconscious and the impact they are having on your success.  You may not consciously know it but your subconscious mind does and it will show you evidence that the beliefs are true, every day.  Take some time to reflect on your beliefs to insure you are receiving the right evidence. As always, I wish you the best and remind you to enjoy the journey.

With Gratitude,

Drew