How beliefs can shape our reality

It is friday. The D day. Advika has prepared for this night and day and has just one goal in mind- to win the match. She is the cricket team captain and batting at no. 3. Her team believes in her. She knows she is a good batsman. But she is afraid of playing with Royal Queens- she has heard that they are a powerful team and their bowler Hina is a veteran. Hina has recently won (Wo)man of the Match in the last two matches. Could this be her third winning streak? Advika wonders but brushes it off.

Advika’s team wins the toss and chooses to bat first. As the game begins she is keenly watching Reena and Tashvi’s every stroke. It’s been almost half an hour and their score is great so far- 25 for 0 in 4 overs. The 5th over begins. Hina will be bowling next. As she throws in her first ball, suddenly she shrieks, “Out!”. Tashvi is bowled!

There is a 5 mins break. It’s Advika’s turn to bat and lead her team into a win. But she is suddenly feeling overwhelmed with fear and negative thoughts. “What if Hina bowls me out too? Will I be able to play my best game today?” She feels a bit jittery and nervous as she walks into the team room.

Where do you think Advika may be wrong in her thinking?
a. Her assumption or false belief that Hina is more powerful than her -they have never played together before
b. Hina must have failed on many occasions too but Advika is ignoring those events which could help her see both good and bad
c. Advika’s extrapolated conclusion that if Tashvi has been bowled by Hina so would she?
d. Something else ——————————————————-

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The half finished story above shows how our beliefs and distorted thinking play a role in our daily lives. We don’t know how Advika’s team will do today but we know that she can surely work on her thinking patterns. She can be more centered by focusing on the whole truth (Hina’s successes AND failures) and find the evidence behind her assumptions or beliefs (Tashvi bowled means she’ll be bowled too), not easily falling for what she sees or hears.

A belief which is either
-a figment of our imagination,
-a half baked evidence,
-an assumption,
-a repetitive thought,
-a theory or
-an incomplete truth
can often make or break our day by coloring our realities and not letting us see the whole truth.

More on beliefs

All our lives we are driven by beliefs. We make assumptions around our perceptions that give birth to thoughts leading to so and so beliefs. As described above, a belief however is only an assumption or imagination and far from truth. Although having beliefs is unavoidable since truth is not available to us at all times, following beliefs blindly has its risks. Even positive beliefs can be delusional. We should as much as possible pursue whole truths regarding situations or realities and not fall for quick assumptions or imaginations.

A small tutorial video with a story on how we are influenced by our beliefs and how beliefs are formed-