Kay:

Hey, hey, Questers, welcome back! This is Episode 209 and it is Thursday, October 22nd. We have such a cool quote for you today from William James, the American philosopher, psychologist, and one of the first educators to offer a psychology course in the US. He says, “Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.”

Shi:

Well, I mean, a quote that brings us to talk about what makes life worth living and bringing it back to this belief, reminds us that a lot of what we say is “worth living” is actually subjective. And that can both be scary and empowering, because it means YOU get to decide.

Kay:

Right? Well, like he says, it’s really the second half of the sentence, “Your belief will help create the fact.” Like, that could be a quote in and of itself. Your belief about any situation will help create the fact of your life. So, just a question for you. I want you to imagine somebody in your mind right now who does not believe that life is worth living, just kind of think about that person. How do they go about their day? How do they carry themselves? How do they comport themselves around other people? Now, think about a person who believes that life is totally worth living. That life is like the coolest and best thing ever, and that they’re attacking their day because they know that if they give everything today, it will only set them up for success tomorrow. Now, the only difference between those two people is a belief system. And so, it helps to continue to create that fact in their life.

Shi:

Right, that belief system then propels you to take different behaviors, to respond in different ways, and to bring different reactions forward in your life. And sometimes we like to laugh about people who get offended by the onslaught of life. Life, it onslaughts you, and there’s no stopping it. Those waves will continue to crash whether you’re ready for them or not. And then, believing that you’re not ready would then move you down the path of taking or not taking certain actions that would then demonstrate that belief to you and prove it to you. And eventually, that becomes the fact, which then feeds the belief and then feeds the fact again! And you get into this feedback loop that doesn’t construct the life that you want. And so, altering that one thing at the beginning, the “belief”, is that part we have control over – and it’s hard. Altering belief work is really hard. But, by knowing that is an issue, we can address the cause and not just the symptom. And we can make real lasting change, which is what most of us are looking for. And you don’t have to be sick to get better, but we do want to get better. Most of us do. And so, the belief systems are a great place to start, even though that work is really hard.

Kay:

So, let’s take this into a physical example, and one that Shila and I have actually heard play out in somebody’s life before. Now, let’s just say that you’re the person who believes strongly inside that you are a sweets person. You just can’t say no to sweets. Every time there’s a cookie around, I grab it. I have to have my sweets, I love my sweets. I’m a sweets person. So, that’s a belief that you carry. So, then that afternoon at the office, the cookies come out and you’re a sweets person. You can’t resist the sweets. So…what do you do? You grab the cookie, and that just affirms your belief that you’re the sweets person who can’t resist sweets! So, then the next morning, a box of donuts come in and you’re the sweets person who can’t resist sweets. And so, there you are with the donuts. And it’s not that you can’t resist the donuts, it’s that you have this underlying belief that you are a sweets person and you are so far identified with that belief system that you continue to prove it to yourself, even though you want to eat healthfully, you want to feel better, and you don’t want to feel compelled to eat something sweet every time a package gets opened in front of you. But it’s that belief system driving your behavior without you really even knowing it.

Shi:

Oh my gosh, that’s such a good example. You see this with alcohol too like, “I’m just a whiskey person. I’m a whiskey girl.” and you build this whole identity around that belief.

Kay:

Oh, I love my wine.

Shi:

Yeah, a wine lady! So, you build this whole identity around it and people buy you merchandise. And well, you think, “I’ve got to try it” and you are attracted to those things. And so, your behavior starts to demonstrate that belief of identity. And before you know it, the facts in your face might not be congruent with what you want for your life. And so, I just think that this kind of quote here, when we talk about belief, especially in relation to the life that you want, can be really impactful. So, just to remind you the quote today from William James is, “Believe that life is worth living and your belief will create the fact.”

Kay:

Alrighty, gang. So, today’s quest is a #ThoughtfulThursday quest. We want you to start your morning with a written statement of gratitude and see how that shapes the course of both your beliefs and your facts in life today. Are you ready?

Kay & Shi:

Let’s quest!