How to Believe New Things

Build a believable thought—and practice it until it becomes familiar.

You can understand that your thoughts affect your life and still wonder how to change them.

You want to believe you’re capable. You want to trust yourself to follow through. But when you try to think positively, another voice immediately disagrees.

That doesn’t mean you’re incapable of changing your beliefs. It means the thought you’re practicing may be too far from what you currently believe.

Let’s look at how to build a thought you can work with.

Find out what you believe now

A belief is a thought you keep thinking.

Some beliefs were taught to you. Others developed as you interpreted experiences and repeated those interpretations. After enough repetition, they can stop sounding like thoughts and start sounding like observations.

You may say you aren’t committed enough, aren’t good with money, or can’t change. Ask whether you’re describing a fact or repeating a conclusion.

Choose one area of your life. Write down what you believe about it without editing yourself.

You need to see the thinking before you can decide what you want to practice instead.

Follow the belief through the Model

Thoughts create feelings. Feelings drive actions. Actions create results.

Take one belief from your list and examine that sequence.

If you think you won’t follow through, how do you feel? What do you do when you feel that way? Do you avoid planning, delay a decision, or stop after one uncomfortable attempt?

Notice whether the actions help create more evidence for the original belief.

This isn’t a reason to blame yourself. It shows you where you can begin making a different choice.

Decide what you want to believe

You don’t have to keep every belief you inherited or rehearsed.

Ask what you want to believe about yourself, your ability to learn, and your willingness to work toward a goal.

Then check whether the new thought is believable.

If you currently criticize your body, an affirmation that your body is beautiful may bring up an immediate argument. A neutral statement—that you have a body—may be a more useful place to begin.

Neutrality can be a step toward a kinder relationship with yourself. You don’t have to jump from self-criticism to admiration in one sentence.

Adjust the wording until you can connect with it

Pay attention to what happens when you say the new thought.

If your mind immediately rejects it, try a smaller step. Instead of insisting that you are excellent at something you’ve never practiced, consider that you can begin learning it.

Instead of deciding that you always follow through, consider that you can make and honor one specific commitment today.

The point is to create a thought that helps you act differently, rather than a sentence you repeat while arguing with it.

Your worth doesn’t have to be the thing you prove through the process. You can work on a skill without making your value depend on mastering it.

Practice deliberately

Old beliefs are familiar because you’ve practiced them. New thinking deserves practice too.

Write your goal at the top of a page. Underneath it, list believable thoughts that support the work. Read them deliberately. Say them aloud if that helps you pay attention.

You can put one where you’ll see it during the day. You can return to it when the old thought appears.

Practice is not a guarantee that every outcome will happen exactly as you imagine. It changes the thinking you bring to the actions that are yours to take.

Use three questions to get started

What do I believe now?

What do I want to believe?

What thought am I willing to practice?

Choose one specific area and give yourself time to work with it. Notice how the new thought feels, what action it supports, and what you learn.

You don’t need to wait for belief to arrive on its own. You can begin building a more useful way to think.