How to Change Your Core Beliefs

If you have read the article Identifying Core Beliefs, you will know that they are the deep, firmly held assumptions you make about yourself, other people, and the world around you.

Because core beliefs may be the driving force behind most of our poor decisions, it makes sense that we would want to identify and change them. But how?

7 ways to change core beliefs and find better ones

1. Learn the art of recognizing your thoughts.

To change your beliefs, you need to be as honest as possible about what they are in the first place. This requires becoming skilled at "catching" your thoughts.

Whenever you begin to feel upset or uncomfortable in a situation, make it a habit to direct your attention toward your thoughts. The core beliefs you need to change are hidden behind negative patterns of thinking.

Try different techniques to help you. Some people find that keeping a daily journal works wonders. Alternatively, try setting a timer to remind you at the start of every hour to pause, observe, and write down what you are thinking.

Practicing mindfulness is one of the best available ways to learn how to observe your thoughts. Read about how to practice mindfulness.

2. Break your thoughts down into beliefs

Beliefs can be very complex. They are often formed during difficult childhood experiences as a way for the brain to protect itself from further pain. We may also unconsciously try to avoid confronting our deepest beliefs so that we can avoid the emotions they conceal.

How, then, can we extract a belief from a thought? Take a tip from cognitive behavioral therapy and try what is known as a "thought record"—a key cognitive behavioral therapy technique that helps you identify the thought troubling you most, determine how true or false it is, and discover the belief behind it.

How a thought record works:

(Download the Thoughts and Feelings Record. Describe the situation or event. Identify the emotions you experienced during it. Write down your negative thoughts about the situation. Examine those negative thoughts by looking for evidence that supports or refutes them. Develop an alternative interpretation of the situation and find alternative thoughts. Then record your feelings again.)

Alternatively, try the Android app "Thought Diary" to analyze your negative thoughts and identify distorted thinking patterns based on the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy. (You can also explore appsMood Tools for improving mood changes.)

3. Ask yourself what it all means.

One question that may help you uncover a negative belief is:

• If this thought were true, what would it mean?

Continue asking this question repeatedly while writing your answers on paper, until you find yourself writing something that brings a wave of emotion or a sense of shock. That will almost certainly be the core belief.

For example, suppose your thought is, "No one at work likes me." The process might look like this:

"If it is true that no one at work likes me, that means something is wrong with me. If it is true that something is wrong with me, that means I am flawed. If that is true, it means I will never be as good as my colleagues. If that is true, it means I am the worst. If I am the worst, it means I am worthless. Oh my God, that feels like being punched in the stomach. This is my core belief—that I am worthless."

4. Try changing your perspective.

Does all of this seem a little difficult? You can make the process of working on core beliefs feel lighter by trying a change of perspective. This means taking the core belief you have discovered and viewing it from completely different perspectives.

What would this belief look like if you were a famous celebrity? If you were on your deathbed? If you returned to being your innocent two-year-old self? For example, if you were a famous celebrity and walked into your workplace now, would you think you were worthless? Would your dying self care what your colleagues thought of you? Would your two-year-old self not find it strange that you see your worth as tied solely to your job?

The purpose is to show how changeable, and therefore how unrealistic, beliefs can be. This gives you an opportunity to see other possible beliefs more easily. From another perspective, what might be a better core belief?

5. Test your belief.

The brain likes to believe that it has "evidence." So if you seem unable to move beyond a belief, you need to conduct a real experiment on it that will produce tangible results.

1. Write down the belief you want to change.

2. Identify three small actions you can take that would reveal whether this belief is true.

3. Write down everything you predict will happen when you take the actions you identified—what does the belief make you assume?

4. Try these three small actions. If you are worried that you will not do them, involve a trusted friend who can make sure that you follow through.

5. Write down what actually happened. What is the difference between reality and your belief?

6. What new beliefs did you discover through your actions?

6. Identify the triggers for your belief.

If you have a core belief that controls you and that you cannot shake, identifying its triggers and then finding ways to address those triggers may help.

Who are you with when this belief begins to emerge? Where are you? What are you doing? How do you feel?

For example, is the belief most often triggered at work, when you are trying to finish some tasks but your colleagues keep offering their opinions, while you have not had enough sleep? What could you do to sleep better? Could you tell your colleagues that it is not a good day to receive feedback and ask to speak later in the week, or schedule a weekly session for sharing feedback?

7. Seek help from a therapist specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy.

Are you interested in all the ways you can confront and change your core beliefs, but unsure whether you can do everything without support? Or do you want to explore more deeply the thoughts that control your life?

Consider working with a therapist specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on the connection between your thoughts, emotions, and behavior, and studies have shown that it can help alleviate depression and anxiety.

Source:Harley Therapy

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