In Built to Last, Collins and Porras seek to describe the habits of successful companies. They propose that successful companies are not afraid to continually transform themselves into something better- but they remain true to their core values. This idea can be applied to individuals as well.

The figure representing this idea uses the Yin (stable) Yang (changing) symbol. It is also a reminder of the concept of impermanence- all things eventually change.

This is a good fit with the Feedback Loop Model for Action:

• The upper loop drive actions to close the gap to a desired vision, leading to a transformation.
• The lower loop creates values from beliefs formed by assessment of experiences and how well needs are met. Since it takes time to build up experiences (and values), the lower loop changes slower than the upper loop- supporting the view of a stable set of core values that might be modified over the long term.

When our experiences shows us that our needs are being properly met, our beliefs and values are working for us and there is little need to change them. This is the idea of Core Values from Collins and Porras. We should then seek to transform ourselves to reach our vision.

 

Using the Feedback Loop Model for Actions, you can apply Goldratt’s “Thinking Process” (which is explained best in Dettmer’s book) to help understand why undesired results are occurring.

Setting a correct Vision is a large topic by itself and for this discussion the focus is on the impact of beliefs on action. So let’s assume a vision has been selected that is truly aligned to needs and doesn’t violate physical laws! If this the case, then the root cause of ineffective actions is not due to the vision. Building a Current Reality Tree diagram can then leave it out.

How do ineffective actions manifest themselves? The Gap between our Vision and Results doesn’t close (it might even get worse). Referring to the loop model, since the vision is fixed, the gap is driven by results. The results depend on Actions, so this is the place to start with the Current Reality Tree (CRT).

Working backwards from ineffective actions (the undesirable effect or UDE), the contributing causes may include wrong goals, bad habits, or constraints in the environment (that are beyond your control). Not all of these may be issues, so interpret the arrows leading into ineffective actions as an ‘OR’ condition (that’s why the typical CRT ellipse depicting a logical ‘AND’ is missing). The two legs that are within the scope of your control (goals and habits) have their causes (plans and behaviors). Rather than tracing back through the all other steps, the diagram has been collapsed to show only beliefs. These have be broken up into two pieces around desire and self; there are other ways one might break out types of beliefs. Since limiting beliefs often involve self beliefs, this approach was chosen. The diagram also illustrates how conflicts between beliefs could lead to the undesirable effect (and cognitive dissonance). Note that there are stronger and weaker influences from these beliefs on plans and behaviors.

So here is the simplified Current Reality Tree:

In an actual analysis, each box in the diagram might be split into several parts, each containing details specific to the particular ineffective action. For example, more than one habit might contribute the ineffective action and each of these may be the result of a different behavior.

 

The most critical part of the feedback loop model for action is Assessment: evaluating how your needs are being met based on your experience and using that judgement to form your vision and beliefs.

Vision is imagining the ideal life that fulfills what you want. A vision serves as a target to move towards [1], increasing the chances that you’ll achieve what you want by helping keep a focus – rather than just drifting through life. As the feedback model shows, vision is the input to a control loop that tries to use planning and action to minimize the gaps between reality and vision. Note that thinking in terms of a feedback model is aligned with Scott Adam’s advice to follow systems over goals. Keep in mind that success depends on strategy and execution. There are usually many strategies available to form good plans, but our beliefs play a large role in how we take action to execute these plans.

We tend to form our Beliefs with little rational judgement as to whether a particular belief may actually be true – especially early in our lives. In fact, there are strong reinforcements from confirmation bias to ignore evidence that a belief we are forming may not be true. We may end up reinforcing the limiting belief that prevented moving toward the vision, since confirmation bias will cause us to accept failure as evidence that the limiting belief is true.Without critical thinking around our beliefs, we are susceptible to accepting limiting beliefs that prevent us from taking proper action.

The combination of a rationally formed vision and irrationally formed beliefs can lead us to cognitive dissonance. Holding ideas and beliefs that are in conflict will lead us to try to find consistency either constructively (resolve the conflict) or destructively (ignore the conflict). In order to resolve the cognitive dissonance, additional limiting beliefs may be piled on until we again have a consistent world view [2].

Unfortunately, we often go through this process unconscionably and end up blind to beliefs that may be blocking our progress. This is why it is important to examine our assessment process, strive for critical thinking, and “mind our steps”.

 

Reference

[1] http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/create-a-vision-for-the-life-you-want.html

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance#Reducing

 

 

Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.
–Mahatma Gandhi

 

Hyram Smith’s book 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management has an excellent section on productivity and beliefs. He views beliefs as a window through which we see the world. This view can be reasonable or distorted, depending on the belief system.

Expanding on his concept, consider the following feedback loop diagram:

 

Working from Needs on the left-hand side, we make assessments of how well our needs are being met based on our experiences. This leads to a vision of where we want to move our lives to. When we see gaps between the results of our actions and this vision, we plan how to close these gaps and set goals. We then take action, leading to results which complete the upper feedback loop. Note that the both the external environment and our habits influence our actions and subsequent results.

As we accumulate results over time (depicted by the integration symbol), we build experiences. As we assess our experiences against our needs, we also build beliefs. These beliefs become operating rules that establish our values. These values are reflected in the plans we make (for example, those that value honesty don’t make plans that rely on deception). Our values are also reflected in our behavior, which gets translated into habits (behavioral shortcut responses to situations).

As Hyram Smith points out, the time lag between results and our assessment of experience often makes it difficult understand the impact of our beliefs.

The key block in the above diagram for getting results is Action. Without action, nothing happens. We can form plans to influence the impact of our environment on action (for example, get a new job). Note that actions are where goals and habits meet. A great many of the choices we make everyday are driven by habits, including procrastination and the inability to make decisions.

While we can use willpower for short periods to force actions, this is a limited resource that is quickly overcome and depleted by our habits. So we focus on establishing the right habits to meet our goals, but often fail because we try to use willpower (for example, New Year’s resolutions to exercise more). Without a strong underlying belief to drive what we truly value, it is hard to rewire our habits. As mention earlier, we are willing to take action only if we really believe in something.

The other key block in the diagram is Assessment. This is where we create both our vision of where we want to go and our beliefs. The assessment process is the most important part of the feedback model- poor assessments lead to weak vision and limiting beliefs. Without stopping to actively think about this process, many people drift through life without goals or the belief they can’t achieve them.

 

Like needs, fear is a motivator that drives many of our actions but in an opposite manner. We pursue needs and flee from fears.

Many authors have created lists of fears, just as psychologists have documented many phobias. For the purposes of investigating beliefs, perhaps fear can be viewed as bringing uncertainty thus strengthening the need for certainty.

A simple, but useful, list of fears is:

• Success. Despite pursuing success, we often fear the consequences of achieving it: it will change our lives.
• Failure. This fear is often around the judgement of others on our failures. This often overshadows the opportunity to learn from failure and become better.
• Change. All things change- something we can’t ultimately control, only modify the consequences.
• Worthlessness. We are social creatures and weigh our usefulness to others (not really in our control) heavier than our internal self-worth (which is under our control).
• Losing Identity. If we form strong attachment to our current identity, we fear its loss if situations change, which of course will. Identity is a process, not a fixed point.
• Poverty. This is really a fear of loss, centered around material possessions.

It is easy to see how to expand this list,  even just by elaborating on each fear. You can also contract the list to three key fears:

• Control. The best way to deal with this is to realize what is truly under your control and what is not.
• Change. Embracing change rather than fighting a losing battle to reject it.
• Loss. Besides trying to avoid material attachments, have confidence is your abilities to overcome.

You might recognize some of the comments on these fears as being aligned with Stoicism (which is not being emotionless and have some parallel to Buddhism) – a philosophy woth exploring.

 

There are several models available for describing our basic needs; a good compilation can be found here. These models range from lists of 3 to many, any needs. I have found Tony Robbin’s model interesting since it captures opposing needs- something that seems fundamental in setting up the dynamics of trying to balance our needs overall.

The diagram below shows the three pairs of opposing needs as being located on opposite sides of a wheel:

 

Needs can be considered as a primary cause requiring actions to be taken. Our assessment of how good a job we are doing meeting needs often leads to belief formation.

Reference

[1] http://changingminds.org/explanations/needs/needs.htm

 

What is a Belief?

A belief is an explanation for why things seem to happen that we accept as true.

Just because we believe something to be true, doesn’t it make it so. One definition of knowledge is when truth and belief overlap:

 

 

A belief is different from a judgement, which involves consciously evaluating a proposition for its truth. If the conclusion is that it is true, judgement may lead to forming a belief. The belief acts as a representation of how part of the world works and therefore influence the actions we take in this world. If you believe something is true, you must be willing to act accordingly- otherwise you can’t claim belief [1]. Beliefs drive all our behavior, including how we react to the behavior of others (driven by their own beliefs).

Types of beliefs include [2]:

• Existence. One of the most basic beliefs, that something actually exists.
• Association. We use reference to things to understand another, stating something is like something else in some aspect.
• Equivalence. Believing two things are the same, often ignoring differences and leading to incorrect generalizations.
• Enaction. Things happen like change and the flow of time.
• Causation. The belief that one thing causes another thing, sometimes accepting a false correlation of events.

Another way to classify beliefs is by where they apply (to ourselves or the world) and how they are adopted:

 

 

Religion and Philosophy are belief systems that guide how we should behave- they are more internally focused. Religious beliefs are associated with faith while reason plays are stronger role in philosophical belief.

We tend to accept the beliefs of the society in which we live, often without much thought since we are exposed to such beliefs long before we have developed a capacity to reason.

The profound influence of science is due to its systematic search for knowledge (truth intersecting with belief). Science minimizes faith while religion seeks to maximize faith. But science still rests on some assumptions taken on faith [3]: external object reality exists and has a structure that permits making generalizations and predictions. It’s key strength is the ability to revise beliefs based on new evidence. While the scientific method can never absolutely prove a belief is true, it is excellent at disproving false beliefs using the tools of hypothesis formation and testing. These are learned tools that don’t get exercised in our early formations of beliefs in life (and sometime rarely in adulthood too).

Why do we have Beliefs?

We are incredible pattern recognition machines, observing and making conclusions about how the world works from birth. This ability to model the world is critical for our survival and has lead to our increasing ability to hold beliefs.

How do we form Beliefs?

We form beliefs from our own experience and accepting what other tell us [4]. Combining our experience and intentional experiments we may try, we can generalize (often using internal reflection) this information to form beliefs. We also listen to trusted authority figures and experts to leverage their experience and often adopt beliefs that they hold. Despite our self-image as a rational species, emotions play a large role in how we form beliefs [5]. We tend to become attached to some beliefs and reject others based on emotions, leading to biased reasoning:

• Confirmation bias. We tend to selectively choose evidence supporting a belief and ignore contrary evidence.
• Disconfirmation bias. We spend significant effort trying to disprove beliefs that are not aligned to existing beliefs.

Like in software, you can envision a ‘stack’ that we use to process our perceptions of the world that starts at a physical level and proceeds up to an intellectual level. The interface between emotional and intellectual levels is beliefs:

 

 

References

Beliefs drive most of our actions, sometimes to our benefit. However, incorrect beliefs can lead to actions that may hold us back from achieving what we want or need.

This blog is an exploration of how we form beliefs, recognize when they limit us, and how we can change them. I’m a technologist that values self-improvement and philosophy and make no claims to being an expert on behavior and psychology. My interests in personal productivity have lead to investigating the major role beliefs play in actually taking actions. Very often the strategies we need to achieve a goal are readily available, yet we fail to act on this information. The problem is usually some limiting belief, which we may not even be aware of, that holding us back. Being able to do something about these limitations is just as important as having a strategy to reach a goal. Ideas are worthless without action.

Much has been written on this topic from various viewpoints: religious, philosophical, and scientific. My bias is toward exploring pragmatic approaches that leverage science. The objective is to find ways to help take the right actions to reach goals. While you may not agree or find some of the techniques don’t work for you, I hope it leads you to further investigate this topic.