Our beliefs lead us to make huge generalisations in life. We have a tendency to make generalisations
based on past experience, what we have been taught and on news and information that we have been
repeatedly exposed to. In effect our mass generalisations become prejudices. Rarely do we stop to
question our prejudices and assumption, let alone our belief systems. But it’s an incredibly liberating
process to do so. When we begin to question a lot of the generalisations and opinions we hold, we
actually find that we didn’t choose them with our intellect, rationale or even free. We were
programmed to hold them!! Below are some examples where we commonly generalise according to our
belief filters, finish the statements and you’ll see how commonly we filter the information around us...
• Most Politicians are...
• Most Africans are...
• Most Americans are
• Most Successful people are...
• Most Women/Men are...
• Most Muslims are...
• Most Celebrities are...
• Most Students are...
• Most Elderly people are...
Updating Our Beliefs: Out With The Old & In With The New
For most of us, we didn’t think for ourselves that
much in our earlier years. We pretty much
accepted what we were told. We trusted what we
were told by our parents and those we perceived
as in a position of authority like our teachers,
religion or culture etc... There’s nothing wrong with
this because as children we have to learn from
somewhere. The problem lies in that we often end
up running these same belief systems which may
have served us as an infant but no longer serve us
as a grown adult!
We take our childhood belief systems into adulthood without ever questioning or exploring them along
the way. We already know that our subconscious program dictates the choices and actions we make
today; the problem comes when the choices and actions of the past make us unhappy today. Essentially
we engage with our present using the outdated beliefs of the past. You are different, your
circumstances are different and the world is different to when you were a child. People and the world
are continually changing and we need to allow for our beliefs to also change if we are to move forward
rather than spin our wheel in frustration. If our lives aren’t currently working for us then it is because we
are running outdated beliefs. Let me share a personal example:
As a child my Mum was overly protective of me; being her first child. She was always on the lookout for
danger and ways that I could potentially come to harm. For example I always had to hold her hand when
we went out to the town, I was always told not to talk to strangers and that there were bad people
around that I had to be careful of, if I had any problems in school she was straight down there to sort
the issue out with my teachers. Her over-protectiveness carried on into my teenage years and as you
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