Why Is It So Hard To Change Our Beliefs?

Why Is It So Hard To Change Our Beliefs?

The Neuromuscular Loop: Why We Revert to Old Patterns.

Have you ever changed a deadbolt lock at your home? Did the new lock require you to turn the lock in the opposite direction than your previous one? If so, you have experience with one of the principles involved in the difficulty in changing beliefs.

Although you know that you have a new lock and that when you installed it you saw that you needed to turn the lock mechanism in the opposite direction as your previous lock. However, every time you went to lock the deadbolt, you still try to turn it in the direction of the old lock. You have programming in your brain and in your neuromuscular system that causes you to repeat this pattern. It makes sense. It is a shortcut for you so you can focus on other things.

This same mechanism takes place when you learn something new that is contrary to what you already always "knew."

Let’s say you had a false belief about the righteousness of seeking to generate as much wealth as you possibly can. We have a lifetime full of teaching that says that pursuing wealth is wrong. Everything from cartoons that you watched as a kid, all the way up to the stuff you watch on the news today about "greedy executives" and large corporate profits.

So let’s say you read something like my article "Why Are Executives Often Seen as “Greedy” for Seeking to Maximize Profits?" Once you finish reading it, you will see that it makes complete sense that you should absolutely seek to maximize your profits. You walk away with a new understanding. However, it won’t last. This is because you have years and years of turning that lock in the opposite direction. You have "shortcuts" in your brain that have thick wiring – neuron connections – that will keep going back to that same set of beliefs. And the challenge with these beliefs versus changing your practice of turning the lock is that it’s not visible. It is not physical. It’s not something that you’ll interact with every day. However, the lock is something you’ll engage with every time you walk out of the house or check to make sure that your home is secure. So it will take much longer for you to change that belief – change that thought habit. It takes a lot of work.

So, when you come to a new knowledge of something, be patient with yourself. It’s going to take time to reprogram your mind from the years of incomplete or outright false information. Just because you revert back to your old beliefs, doesn’t mean that the new information is wrong. It may mean that you need to continue to go through all the various scenarios when this understanding gets tested and strengthen it with more and more nuances of the principles you’ve come to know.