The Science Behind Belief and Why Our Thoughts Create Our Reality

Our beliefs are incredibly powerful, wether we believe something is possible or not, we are always right.

When we are born into this world, we are essentially a blank canvas. As we grow we start to adopt beliefs based on our experiences and our environment, namely the people who we grow alongside.

We adopt many conditioned beliefs from our parents, family and friends about money, work, relationships and self worth. We also experience conditioning from society about what success, beauty and love should look like.

We then see evidence from our experiences that reinforces these, both positive and negative examples can impact our belief system.

I’ve heard actors say that they struggled to get work in the theatre because they didn’t have a classical training. I have also heard actors give award acceptance speeches confirming the fact, that not having a drama school training didn’t impact their opportunities. Reminding us that whatever background you come from, you can be a successful actor. Which do you think is the more empowering belief to adopt?

What ever we believe, our brain will find evidence to support it and will reinforce it. This is called confirmation bias. Our brains long to confirm what we believe to be true, so our inner talk can say, hah see I was right about that, or I knew that was possible, look they have done it.

This is why we are so fascinated by stories of people who have achieved great things, or overcome hardship that seemed impossible. The four minute mile, the story of Yusra and Sara Mardini now depicted in the movie, The Swimmers.

Understanding and bringing awareness to our deep rooted beliefs, calling them out and asking the question, does this feel true for me? Is one of the most powerful things we can do to create the career and life that we desire.

I had a belief that if I didn’t go to drama school or receive intensive training, then I wouldn’t be a good enough actor. That I was in some way incapable of entering the industry as a working actor without this. This impacted my actions greatly, meaning I didn’t put myself out there or try to get work because I believed that I wasn’t good enough or qualified.

Often the beliefs we hold are so deeply rooted in our subconscious mind that we don’t realise that they impact the choices we make every day. Therefore getting into the habit of starting to bring awareness to and listen to your inner monologue and self talk is key to reshaping these beliefs.

How to rewire your belief system…

Step One - Call them out.

Step Two - Choose a new belief to replace the old one

Step Three - Affirm, affirm, affirm!

Step Four - Find evidence to support it and this will reinfornce that belief.

Some of the Science behind Belief…

We have all heard about the placebo effect.

“Researchers are learning that a change in mind-set has the power to alter neurochemistry. Belief and expectation—the key elements of hope—can block pain by releasing the brain’s endorphins and enkephalins, mimicking the effects of morphine.”
― Jerome Groopman, The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness

We literally speak our life into existence by the words that we choose, over time we take action based on these beliefs and this is what leads to results.

Neuroplasicity, the brain is like a muscle and his highly adaptable, it changes and gets stronger depending on how we use it. hence the term plasticity. we can literally train our brain to think differently and form new neural pathways and networks as a result. repetition is key to changing our beliefs - this is where the power of daily practices care such powerful tool. Practices like affirmations, gratitude and setting goals and intentions.

Surrounding yourself with positive examples that reinforce the beliefs you want to adopt. We adopt other peoples negative beliefs as our own, start to question if this is truly what feels true for you or a perspective you wish to engage with.

Become aware of your own self talk, the adivce that others give and the examples you see. Surround yourself with success stories that help inspire you on your journey.

Start a Daily Practice

A powerful daily practice - Affirmations

This is why I find affirmations to be one of the most powerful tools for achieving our acting goals. Because I can retrain my brain to rehsape beliefs I have that arent in service of the goals I want to achieve. The more we use and reinfornce a belief the stronger it gets, the ones we don’t use lose their power and over time disappear. I use affirmations to reinforce and nourish beliefs that are powerful and have the ability to create the life I desire.

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