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Your Life Systems is a podcast about building practical systems for everyday life.
Join Wes as he shares simple ideas, practical frameworks, and real-world experience to help you make consistent progress in the areas of life that matter most.
Most people don't need more information. They need better implementation.
Instead of relying on motivation, you'll learn how to build systems that make success easier, more consistent, and more sustainable.
Your Systems Reveal What You Really Believe
Hi, I'm Wes. Welcome to Your Systems Reveal What You Really Believe. Please subscribe to this channel so you don't miss any episodes.
Your beliefs create your systems.
Now, this is kind of a touchy topic for some people when I talk to them about it, but if you really investigate what you do, the systems you use, whether you intentionally use them and create them or whether it's just systems that you've automatically started using or doing, you'll find that your systems will show you what your beliefs are.
So sometimes you need to create a system to help you, but sometimes you need to identify your underlying beliefs in order to recognize how to change a system to better serve you.
What you believe, your beliefs, have tremendous, tremendous power over what you accomplish in life.
Now, most things I talk about on these episodes are systems in one way or the other, but you've got to understand how your beliefs work or alter or influence the systems you're using.
So there's two kinds of systems.
One kind of system you intentionally create. You choose what you want, you build or create a system, you put it into place.
The other kind of system is one that you didn't intentionally create, you didn't intentionally put it in place, but that you're actually living by, using all the time.
Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with every system that you don't create, but it is important that you recognize the systems you're using in your life that you didn't intentionally create, so you can judge them or see how they're working for you.
So often, when we identify our systems that we didn't intentionally create and put in place, we can find ways to make them better, even if they're working now.
But this is all tied into what you believe or your beliefs.
So if you're struggling in any area of your life, the first thing to do is look at whatever system is controlling that part of your life.
What decisions, what steps are taking place that are deciding or giving you the outcomes in that part of your life or business or whatever that you're not happy with?
Then, once you identify that system, try to dig even deeper and look for your core beliefs or the beliefs that are feeding that system that you're using.
And the same thing works for systems that you have intentionally created and put into place.
Look for the beliefs that are being shown from what that system is and what it's creating.
Because so often, if you want to change, and you know, we want to change for the better, right?
We're looking for ways to get better, have better lives, create easier lives. Better systems can help with that.
But so often, if we want to create or change a system, whether we've intentionally put it in place or not, we've got to dig even deeper and find the beliefs that are fueling each system.
Now, this is kind of challenging.
And the truth is, it might take a lot of practice to get good at this.
It took me years of practice before I really fully understood how my beliefs altered or influenced my systems and how the systems I was using showed my beliefs and the connection.
It's like a direct connection, but you don't think about it unless you intentionally try to think about it to make things better.
But then, once I learned to recognize, well, this system's not working the way I wanted, is that because I have a certain belief or set of beliefs that I've subconsciously or unconsciously built into this system?
And then, if I identified the belief, then I could start working on changing the belief first, and then that I could use to go back and influence the system.
Don't worry if this seems complicated.
It really takes practice to get good at it, but it doesn't mean you can't start by finding a small thing.
Again, remember this.
Start with the belief and the system and understand the connections between the systems in your life and your beliefs and how they affect each other.
If you can get that, if that's all you get out of today's episode, that that's real, that there's a connection between your systems and your beliefs, then you're on your way to identifying what your beliefs are saying, what your systems are saying about your beliefs, and you're on your way to identifying the beliefs so that you can alter beliefs or systems because they work together.
And remember, the question is: What do your repeated systems and habits reveal about what you actually believe?
What do you repeat?
What systems are you doing over and over?
So first, identify your system.
Second, look and answer this question: What do these systems or habits reveal about what you actually believe?
It doesn't happen with every system or every time you investigate these, but every once in a while when you learn how to do this, it'll be like the light bulb moment and it'll be like, oh my gosh, I didn't realize how much this system showed what I believe.
And on the other side, you have a light bulb moment that you realize that I have an incorrect belief, and if I just correct this incorrect belief, then I can improve this system, and it's wonderful when that happens.
So that's the kind of thing you're looking for, to identify the systems you use and what beliefs that it's showing.
Beliefs, what you believe in, influence what you prioritize, avoid, repeat, and tolerate.
You know, systems are repeatable.
That's what a system is.
It's a series of steps or whatever that's repeatable over time.
So your beliefs influence what you prioritize, avoid, repeat, and tolerate.
So your beliefs influence your systems because your systems are what you repeat.
But also, your beliefs influence your priorities.
So if you want to change a system for something better, maybe you need to change your priorities.
Well, your beliefs directly influence your priorities too.
These are all straight lines, and the more you can see how they're tied together and have control over each other or influence on each other, the more you can intentionally tweak these things to improve what you're getting out.
Your stated beliefs and your operating systems do not always match.
Have you ever had a situation where you have a firm belief or set of beliefs and you will state them, you believe that way, and then find yourself doing something that doesn't agree with one of those beliefs?
Most people have that happen multiple times in life, but at least once or twice.
And when that happens, that is a great thing for you to realize, so then you can start digging deeper.
Is my belief wrong, or have I set up my operating system wrong?
Because if your belief's right and you're doing something against your belief, then you've put the wrong operating system in place and you need to alter your operating system to align with your beliefs.
But maybe your beliefs weren't right in the first place, and the operating system is showing you that the belief was incorrect and you need to take a closer look at your beliefs.
Look at repeated behavior for evidence of the assumptions underneath it.
What are you doing repeatedly that doesn't seem to feel just right or jive with whatever it is you're trying to accomplish?
It says, look at your repeated behavior.
So what's your repeated behavior?
It can give you evidence of whatever you're assuming underneath, which is what we're talking about, beliefs.
Assumptions can be dangerous, but it's great when you see an assumption and then think about digging deeper into that.
And again, how can you dig deeper?
Start looking at what you believe in the system and what you're repeating that's leading to these assumptions.
And a lot of times you'll find that everything's fine.
You've thought it through, your belief's right, your system's fine, and that's great.
But it's even better when you find a system, operating system or something, that doesn't line up with what your beliefs are or what you think your beliefs are or assume your beliefs are.
It can be very powerful when you see something incongruent like this and it gets you to take a deeper look at all of it.
And that's what I'm giving you permission or challenging you to do today.
This is where you can get a real breakthrough, is when you start seeing this stuff and it forces you to think harder or deeper or take a deeper look.
I'm not telling you any of your behavior's wrong or any of your beliefs are wrong.
What I'm telling you is it's really powerful when you find things that aren't congruent and you learn to dig down every time that happens.
You can learn great things. You can make huge advancements when you start recognizing these things.
A belief can be sincere and still produce no change if you don't have a system to support it.
So if you have strong beliefs, what systems have you created or put into your life that support that belief?
When you change an important belief, ask what routine, rule, default, or boundary should change with it.
You don't just change a belief, and at least an important belief, without things in your life, what I'd call systems, that won't need to be changed also.
If you change an important belief, take a look at what other things in your life are going to change or need to change to support that belief.
Use your systems as evidence to test whether your life is aligned with what you say or what you say matters.
Again, use your systems as evidence, what are your systems producing, to test whether your life is aligned with what you say matters.
Again, this is not about judgment.
This is not about me telling you that you are right or wrong.
What it's about is you identifying things and then intentionally improving them.
So again, remember, remember the link, if you get nothing else out of this, the link between your beliefs and your systems.
There's a direct link.
And once you recognize that link, then you can start digging into both sides to either change your beliefs to something that's true, or more helpful, or change your system to better support your beliefs.
This is Wes with Your Life Systems. Please subscribe.