In this post, you will learn:
How to live according to your identity.
How the community influences your identity.
Coach U exercises how to strengthen core beliefs.
In our previous post, we looked at core beliefs and how they are formed. In that post, I mentioned that the three building blocks of changing a belief are seeking evidence of the truth, acting according to the truth, and breaking the cycle of muscle memory. In this post, we will have a deeper look at acting according to the truth. This simple key will strengthen beliefs in our lives that lead to living more of our identity in Christ.
Many of us tolerate and have accepted limiting beliefs about ourselves because of the evidence that has convinced us of those beliefs. The evidence we see convinces us that we cannot grow and that we are stuck in our destructive patterns and limiting beliefs. We are, in other words, trained to think that we are limited, or we have practiced acting in certain ways which convince us of certain limiting beliefs. A big influencer of these trained beliefs is our need to identify with a group of people. As humans, we are social beings that have a deep desire to be accepted and belong. This desire will steer us to conform and train ourselves to act in certain ways around certain groups of people to fit in. According to scholars, this gives us membership in the community but also forms our beliefs and shapes our identity. Very simply put, have you ever heard a parent say, “In this house, we say thank you”. To belong to that family the child then is trained to show gratitude to other people. This manner of showing appreciation reinforced by external evidence of ourselves and others plays a critical role in forming our identities. The saying, “You become what you look at” cannot be truer in this case. How do we use these principles to reinforce positive beliefs in our identity and get rid of limiting beliefs?
Act according to your identity
The first principle is to practice acting according to your identity and not reacting according to limiting beliefs. Because we believe that we have received a new identity when we accepted Christ we affirm our Christ-like identity by acting according to the norms of our Father’s house, this includes the way we see and value ourselves and others. Don’t get me wrong I am not saying fake it ‘till you make it. But rather choosing to accept our heavenly Father’s way, we draw or affirm our Christ-like identity.
The next time you find yourself in a situation where a limiting belief surface and wants to bombard you with evidence that affirms it, say “In my Father’s house we act or value this or that”.
Secondly, we can use this principle by surrounding ourselves with people who demonstrate the qualities of a Christ-like identity. The constant example of others around you will focus your attention and affirm the value that you want to draw on within your Christ-like identity.
Coach U
What are the three main limiting beliefs that you have identified, what are the norms in your Father’s house (the opposite of the limiting belief)?
For example, let’s take the limiting belief that you do not have value. The next time you want to react in a way that affirms that you do not have value, say “In my Father’s house we know that we have value because we are made in His image.” The important thing is to put it in your own words. Repeat it every time the limiting belief pops up and act according to the way your heavenly Father would.
Try to spend time with people that live out the values opposite to your limiting beliefs. Observe and learn from them.
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© 2023 Ivan Venter, All Rights Reserved.
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
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