One Fundamental Reason Is All We Need to Do What We Do

Ask any leader or a person in a position of influence to name a single important factor for winning hearts and minds. The chances are the word you will hear repeated over and over again is “trust”.

Without trust, a leader knows they have nothing. Trust is not exclusive to leadership; it is essential in any relationship or friendship.

When we trust someone or something we rely on or anticipate, our beliefs will lead to a particular outcome. Often how we arrive at that belief stems from our values and what we have decided to be necessary.

Understand how to shape a person’s beliefs, and you will have at your will immense power to wield extraordinary outcomes.

It has been long understood, and witnessed beliefs are fundamental to what we say and do. But what are they? A quick Google search and the definition that often comes up is the word belief is a noun.

Belief: An acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof.

Whether it be matters close to our heart, in love or friendship or matters in religion, politics, gender or race, we have all experienced first hand how our belief in something or someone can drive us or others to do what we do.

Our beliefs shape us, and we develop our beliefs through our environment and the information we are willing to process and accept.

Beliefs are pervasive throughout our lives. Yet, how much thought do we give to their provenance? How many of them are our own or a product of our environment, culture, traditions or worst, still an automatic acceptance of the information we receive?

Perhaps that is why we can see courageous, sometimes heroic endeavours at one end of the spectrum. But, then, the most heinous and depraved forms of human existence are at the other end.

As I get older, I have become more fascinated by the idea of how our minds are predisposed to believe and follow. It seems counterintuitive these days, given it would appear everyone wants to be a leader or at least have followers.

But even as a leader, we will follow at some point in our lives. Perhaps our ability to follow is nothing more than a natural evolutionary trait. We have learned to survive as social beings and, in turn, follow and support those brave enough and curious enough to find the best food, warmth and shelter.

From a religious perspective, belief is central to personal faith. It is a guiding principle not necessarily based on proof but on a willingness and acceptance to trust what we can’t explain.

Religious or not, there is growing scientific evidence to support the fact the same brain activity can be observed when you believe in something or someone. Scientists have even hypothesised within our DNA, there is what is known as the “God gene.” Meaning our experience and belief in religious or spiritual matters can be explained as hereditary and part of our genetics.

Irrespective of whether you accept the “God gene” hypothesis, it would seem that if we believe, it becomes deterministic in the outcome.

Take, for example, public speaking, something some of us dread and fear. I guess you could describe this as an introvert’s nightmare scenario.

For me, it is, and it is something I do reluctantly. I always feel more comfortable when I am prepared, and I know beforehand what I am about to say.

When you learn to public speak, you learn about the importance of body language, making eye contact. You learn about using your voice as a tool through projection, intonation and pace, etc.. You learn a lot about all things to make the exercise a success. But all of this is secondary to how you choose to approach the task at hand. Don’t get me wrong; it all helps and is valuable. But if you approach public speaking believing that this is scary, this will go wrong. I will forget my words; people will laugh and criticise etc.…Then you are probably right one of these things will happen.

In a similar vein, I sometimes beat myself up about improving my listening skills. I know I need to be a better active listener and aspire to be a level 4, attentive or 5, empathetic listener where I can. Again there is a plethora of advice available on how to master and improve this skill. And guess what, yes, all very helpful, but still, they are secondary to your belief.

The truth is if you honestly tell yourself to listen and actively do all you can to be present, then you will. Often, it boils down to whether you are genuinely interested in the topic or the person. I know from personal experience how easy it is to pay attention and recall the vast majority of a conversation when I believe this to be true.

All said and done, our world views ultimately, and our beliefs and mindset determine our philosophy on life. But this in itself is contextual and often precluded by our desire for evidence first. At the very best, all we can do is make up our minds based on our current situation and the information we have at hand.

Success breeds success; confidence builds confidence.

Why because when we see and experience the evidence. We trust it to be true. So why not start the other way round and start by believing.

Today, it is up to us beyond our universal human beliefs to love and be loved. To choose which ideas we will adapt, which ones we will hold onto. We can do this successfully if we always remember to remain open and questioning.

I imagine, in 100 years from now, in as much as the same way we do today; people will look back in wonder and amazement. Those immortal words will be said, “Wow, people believed that!”