Our beliefs shape our world, inside and out

There were a group of maids. When surveyed, the maids were not avid exercisers. Most were overweight with average or below average health. Obviously they would have enjoyed better health, but they had little to no plans to make efforts towards better health.

A group of researchers presented the maids with some interesting facts on the cleaning profession. They showed the maids how the various activities that made up their professions amounted to a substantial amount of physical activity throughout the day. One could say that working as a maid took as much effort as a productive visit to the gym.

One month later the researchers checked in on the maids. The maids, having made no lifestyle changes in the previous month, had gone through some substantial changes. They had lost on average 2 pounds each, had lower blood pressure, and healthier cholesterol readings. So what changed?

All it took for these maids to become physically healthier, was the belief that their jobs were in fact substantial exercise. Their jobs did not change, and the way they went about their jobs did not change. And yet, across the board the maids experienced enhanced health. This is the power of belief.

What we believe has great effect upon our selves and our worlds. Our beliefs can physically change us, like in this example of the maids’ health, and our beliefs can change the world outside of ourselves. While we may not have full control of all things outside of ourselves, we do have control over our reactions. Our reactions, over time, cause great effect.

We should be mindful of our beliefs, realizing the power they posses. Our beliefs are malleable, always capable of change. Though many of us find ourselves living under a belief system instilled upon us by the world we grew up in. We all have the power to learn and change our beliefs, we need not succumb to the beliefs thrust upon us by the world. Even if those beliefs go back centuries, millennia, or just came from some clever marketers.

Be careful what you believe in. Use your beliefs to empower yourself and your world. What you believe is the foundation of everything you are and will be. If you need to change, don’t be afraid to change what you believe. Nature is not stagnant, and neither are you.