What causes a permanent behavioral change?
Belief Windows
A belief window is the collection of beliefs through which we see everything.
Mr. Smith asked three things of those of us in attendance
- Take notes.
- Think about the talk for 36 hours.
- Teach this to one other person within the next 48 hours.
I will admit that I did the first two but have been slow on the third. Perhaps this will count toward that. - DEM
The basic principles or beliefs that make a human being become more effective and productive have not changed in 6000 years. Aristotle got it right!
Belief Window
There are religious beliefs and many other little beliefs related to how we view ourselves and others.
The number of beliefs on our window is relative to our age. Generally, the older we are, the more beliefs on our window. Our brain validates the belief and there follows a course of action when presented with one of our beliefs.
Example: All big dogs are vicious. Our brain validates this as true. So when we encounter a big dog, our response mechanism kicks in and might panic and run from the big dog. Our belief dictates our reactions to big dogs.
Example: A man may believe that men are better than women. We may ask him, “How’s that working for you? Will that belief meet your long-term needs?” If the man is paying alimony to two wives then perhaps not.
Observation 1 – If the results of my behavior do not meet my needs, there is a harmful belief on my belief window and I experience pain.
Observation 2 – Finding better beliefs is fun and will remove my pain.
Belief has to change before the behavior can change.
Groups have belief windows, as do communities, corporations and nations.
Example: Company A has a belief that it must cut costs. And they need to hire a receptionist – so they hire the least expensive person they can find.
A client is talking to the CEO and says, Your receptionist doesn’t speak English.
Oh really?
Yes. I asked her about some materials that your company has and her response was, “We ain’t got none Jack."
Suddenly the CEO realized that the long term goals of the company were not going to be met if the face of the organization is the cheapest person they can hire. So they change the belief to from cutting costs to It is important that our company have the best reputation.
As a result they decided that one of the directors would be made the receptionist. She accepted only after the new policy/belief was explained to her. She was given a raise and put in charge of company correspondence as well as the receptionists.
When we look at our behaviors and ask why – Why do we do this or that? The answer comes back in the form of a belief.
The power of belief windows is that folks understand this quickly – they get it.
Will the results of my behavior meet my needs over time? If not, I need to change some beliefs on my belief window.
What on my belief window may be harmful and limiting my results?
If our behaviors are not meeting our needs and we are feeling pain – then we should question our behaviors and look at our beliefs and change the corresponding belief on our belief window.
Pain is inevitable – misery is optional. If we choose not to examine our behaviors and make changes to our belief window and persist in our pain then we will be in misery.
We are the only ones who can change a belief on our own belief window.
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