Self Esteem and Money

Do You Know the Consequences of Our Beliefs?

According to a known psychologist, feelings sprout from your beliefs, thoughts, expectations and opinions about your world. Feelings did not come from the things that actually happened. This is very crucial to know and understand because you cannot control everything that happens to you. However, you can definitely develop different ways on how you can control your beliefs and thoughts.

For you to fully understand the concept of the famous psychologist, read on. This article will equip you where your feelings come from that will affect your behavior. It will give you information the consequences of our beliefs. This model will help you realize your dreams and manage your finances as well.

The model stands for ABC:

• A stands for Activating Event
• B stands for Belief
• C stands for Consequences

Activating Event

This could be an activity that you do, an event that happened to you, a close interaction with someone, or you have thought something such as a mental event. Activating event is something that is anything to do with your life. For instance, an activating event is driving in a highway going to another place. This event or scenario is a “cause” that can put you in a positive or negative state of emotion and feeling. Driving in a highway can change your mood – positively or negatively. Because of the event, you have the right to choose how you are going to process it. You use in processing your core beliefs about your surroundings and the entire world.

Belief

What come next are your beliefs on the activating event. It will determine your emotion. Most of the time, what you believe is the truth. However, you need to be aware that your thoughts are not necessarily the facts and the truth. It will be your interpretation of the event or scenario. Your interpretations will be based on what you have experienced and learned in life. Keep in mind that all these happen in a snap and sometimes you are not aware of. You describe your beliefs in different ways – as an opinion, an expectation or a thought.

You need to be aware and fully understand that there are two types of beliefs – irrational and rational beliefs. Irrational beliefs are based only on your opinions and your judgments. It is also your unbalanced beliefs. For instance, you believe, “If everyone in this road is obeying and following traffic rules and regulations, I do not need to follow the traffic rules. I will still be in good hands and safe driving this highway.” On the other hand, rational beliefs are according to the factual evidence. It is your balanced beliefs. For instance, you will tell yourself, “I can drive this highway safely because all of us are following and obeying traffic rules and regulations.

Your core beliefs, both irrational and rational, process and perceive the activating event. Your beliefs will result to behaviors and feelings or also known as the “consequences.” Take note, what lead to your behaviors and feelings is not the event itself. In the example above, it is not the act of driving in a highway.

Consequences

What are now the consequences of our beliefs? It comes in three different forms – thought, behavior and emotion. These three consequences are the way you think (thought), the way you act (behavior) and the way you feel (emotion) after the activating event has been processed with your irrational or rational beliefs.

For instance, your rational belief when driving in a highway is everyone obeys and follows the traffic rules and regulations. In result, it makes you think that you will not get hurt while driving; you follow the rules and regulations and make you feel safe while driving in the highway.

However, if you use your irrational beliefs, you will do the following consequences: you think that other motorists driving in the highway are stupid to follow the traffic rules and regulations, that is your thought; you will not give a signal when you change lane, that is your behavior; and you will feel that you can drive whatever you want, your emotion.

Now ask yourself, in the two kinds of beliefs, what will most likely get an accident? Is it the one with irrational beliefs or with the rational beliefs? The consequences of our beliefs can be positive or negative to you and the people around you.

You have the right to choose what you will believe. You can also do what you want. You can also think what you want. However, your thought, behavior and emotions will greatly affect yourself and all the people surrounding you. With the sample given above, the one with irrational beliefs will most likely get an accident. If you are this person with irrational beliefs, you will probably hit another car and get injured. However, you are not the only one affected by the accident. The lives of other drivers or other people in that particular moment in the highway will be affected because of your irrational beliefs.

Remember, you have the right to choose what you will think, feel and act. However, you do not have control over the consequences of our beliefs.