He began with a quote, "What you believe is of little consequence. The only thing of consequence is what you do." By someone I don't remember. He followed with another quote, "You are more likely to act yourself into a feeling than you are to feel yourself into an action." And furthermore he ended with a quote, "A thought forms an action, an action a habit, a habit a destiny." (I am probably slightly misquoting all three of these).
The students "amen"-Ed that first one, agreed with the second one and really "ooh"-ed and "ahh"-ed that last one.
I cringed the entire time. Your beliefs are of little consequence?! Yikes! If you've read any of my earlier posts, you'd know I continuously emphasize how our beliefs are the basis for all of our actions.
Saying that your beliefs are of little consequence but only your actions are of great consequence is like saying that the roots of a tree is of little consequence, only the part that's above ground is. Or like the captain of the Titanic saying the underneath of an iceberg is of little consequence, only the part above water is. Or it is like a builder saying that the foundation of a building is of little consequence; only the building itself is what matters...
I propose that every action you commit is based entirely on what you believe; not what you claim to believe, or what people tell you to believe, but what you actually believe deep down. To say that actions make you who you are is backwards.
Your actions may be the only way for others to judge who they think you are, but things are not always what they seem. A child frustrated at his parents for keeping him from doing what he wants doesn't see that they are protecting him. Are they really oppressors as he sees them? Is a dating couple having sex simply because they are alone together? Is a pregnant woman a fornicator because she isn't married? Man only sees actions, so he judges others based on it. But God sees the heart. If anyone knows who you are, it's Him.
Strictly psychologically speaking, actions do affect your attitude. I am not negating this fact by saying actions come from beliefs. There are instances when what we believe is proven wrong when we do the opposite of what we believe, but we STILL act out of hope that we are wrong. For example: a man might be afraid of intimacy, and believe that if he reveals his inner self that people will reject him, but when he steps out and opens himself up to a good woman or to good friends, he realizes that he was wrong, and that there are some who won't reject him. But he opened up because he believed or hoped that maybe he was wrong.
Or perhaps you're in a bad mood and you don't want to do anything, but someone suggests you go work out at the gym. If you agree to do it, it's because you believe that it might put you in a better mood, or at least that its good for you.
When people do what they are told and disagree with what they are doing, they at least believe in some way that doing this thing will make their lives easier or will honor those telling them to do it.
Is it possible for an action to NOT begin in belief? If you can think of a scenario, please comment.
Yes, your actions have consequences... But they began from your beliefs. Coughing may have made my voice scratchy, but it was the virus that made me sick and cough that ultimately caused it. Why would I cough if I didn't have an itch in my throat? Why would you do anything if you didn't have a reason to do it? Even subconsciously?
The last quote, "a thought forms an action," and so on... It totally contradicts the first one! In our minds is where it all starts. People like to separate things that are intrinsically connected. Actions are not disconnected from beliefs. By separating the two, they are limiting their understanding and essentially only treating the scratchy throat symptoms rather than treating the virus itself. Not that thoughts and beliefs are viruses, haha, but that they are the cause and the actions are the effect.
Ironically, earlier in the class the teacher asked us what we are passionate about, and I responded. My passion is to help people build healthy foundations of belief. This essentially affects what we do and the choices we make. Our beliefs determine our actions, which determine the quality of our lives. But that premise crumbles under the idea that beliefs are of little consequence. Simply trying to change a habit is difficult, and often people revert to that habit in times of stress and strain. And often difficult is changing a belief. But once the belief is changed, the actions naturally change with it.
Sometimes changing a habit can cause beliefs to change. But until that belief is changed, I don't consider it a true change.
And that's why I cringed. I never did like taking pain killers...
