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 start to see evidence from our experiences that reinforces these beliefs; 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?

Whatever we believe, our brain will find evidence to support it and will reinforce it. This is called confirmation bias. Our brains want to confirm what we believe to be true, so our inner voice 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. Stories like, the four minute mile or 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 a well renowned drama school, 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 reinforce the belief.

Start a Daily Practice

As we have learned, repetition is key to shifting our belief system. So once you have followed step one and two, you want to focus on step three and four.

Step Three - Affirm

This is why I find affirmations to be one of the most powerful tools for achieving acting goals. Because I can retrain my brain to reshape beliefs I have that aren’t in service of the goals I want to achieve.

The more we use and reinforce 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. You can start an affirmation journal, or record them on your phone and listen back. There’s even a great app called ThinkUp that lets you record affirmations and add music to them!

Step Four - Find Evidence

The great thing about confirmation bias is that the brain works hard to confirm our belief, wether negative or positive, so you will start to notice evidence that supports your new belief. That said, it can still really boost your rewiring journey to surrounded yourself with positive and inspiring stories that align with your new belief system.

Researchers are learning that a change in mindset has the power to alter neurochemistry.

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.

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

Surrounding yourself with positive examples that reinforce the beliefs you want to adopt can really support the change you wish to make. We adopt other peoples negative beliefs as our own often unconsciously, so start to question what feels true for you, and if theirs is a perspective you wish to engage with.

Become aware of your own self talk, the advice that others give and the examples you see. Surround yourself with success stories that help inspire you on your journey. Spend your time focusing on what is possible and not what isn’t or the reasons why something will not work.

You are powerful enough to create the career you desire. That’s not to say you can simply believe, sit back and wait, you have to put in the work but equally working hard to achieve your goals without a healthy belief system is going to make it that much harder.