Think It Chapter 2: How Thoughts Become Beliefs

Your Powerful Subconscious

Jan 13, 2025

Let’s back up and talk about the origin of our deepest, most common negative thoughts—our subconscious beliefs. It took me a long time to understand the concept of embedded beliefs and why they play such a critical role in how we manifest our current reality. The incredibly frustrating thing about these beliefs is that you probably have no idea they even exist. Talk about annoying. And what’s worse? They’re often the opposite of what you think you believe. In other words, they are tricky little fuckers!

It’s so important that we align our beliefs with our actions so they’re both pointing in the same direction. When they’re in sync, we get our desired result, often far more easily than we ever imagined. When they’re in conflict or going in opposing directions, all the effort in the world won’t deliver the outcome we’re trying to achieve.

So, what happens when your beliefs and actions are in conflict? You can’t get the results you want, because while your actions are trying to help you take a right turn, your beliefs have preprogrammed your mental GPS to take a left. When those signals are opposing each other, it’s impossible to move forward, and you’re stuck in the proverbial roundabout.

How Beliefs Work

The foundation for our beliefs begins when we’re very young. They come from what we see and hear in our environments—at home, in the media, at school—and from the people around us. As we grow, they become solidified by the voice in our head repeating the things we’ve absorbed. Then we unconsciously internalize all those voices, turning them into personal labels, our identity, our “personality,” and they become the story of who we are.

IRL (in real life) Example: Let’s start with a simple example. Imagine that when you were five years old, you overheard your parents casually telling someone that you were “clumsy” because you tripped over your feet a few times. No big deal to them, and maybe not even to you at the time. But a few years later, your middle school basketball coach sees you trip getting off the bus and calls you clumsy in front of the whole team. Everyone laughs. Now people at school start calling you a klutz. Eventually, you adopt it as part of your identity. You start believing you’re clumsy and are bound to embarrass yourself at any moment. You believe it’s just who you are.

That belief now plays like a loop in your head, showing up in all kinds of moments, especially where you fear embarrassment. The thoughts say things like, You’re too clumsy to dance; you’ll trip and fall, so you don’t dance at prom. Later, you’re afraid to eat on a date because you might spill something down the front of your white shirt. You even start warning people by saying, “I’m such a klutz,” hoping it’ll soften the blow if you do something awkward. And the cycle continues, shaping your decisions and reinforcing the belief that started with an offhand comment years ago.

Okay, maybe that specific example was me, but I can’t be the only one who also sat on an escalator in high school and had her shorts eaten by the disappearing stairs, requiring maintenance to turn it off and everyone in the mall to watch me get extracted from the giant moving staircase that everyone knows you’re not supposed to sit on. But I digress.

A slow transformation takes place when we absorb and internalize outside opinions. And the more we think about them, wonder if they’re true, or replay them in our head, the more deeply rooted they become.

Think of our beliefs as the root system of a giant oak tree. Without strong roots, the tree can’t stand. Healthy roots mean a healthy tree. Our beliefs hold up the whole operation—they drive our thoughts, fuel our actions, and ultimately shape our results.

Beliefs + Thoughts + Actions = Results

How Do We Change Beliefs That No Longer Serve Us?

First, we need to identify what those beliefs are. That takes some digging and brutal honesty. Next, we need to change the thoughts that have been reinforcing those beliefs. Why? Because repetitive thoughts create beliefs. And consciously repeating new, empowered thoughts is how we rewire those beliefs.

But naturally, our minds might resist this change, arguing that the new thoughts aren’t true and will never become true. That’s okay, we don’t need to believe them on day one.

Think of every time you’ve retold a story; how little embellishments creep in over time with each retelling. Eventually, you can’t remember which parts are factual memories and which are the embellishments. It’s this same principle of mental pliability that we tap into here, knowing that if you say something often enough, you’ll begin to believe it.

Our brain doesn’t know the difference between truth and a lie—when the lie is consistently repeated.

There are countless scientific studies that show how the brain quickly adapts and reshapes reality when we consistently tell it a new story, even if that story is a lie. (You can Google studies on neuroscience and reprogramming, or ask ChatGPT to pull some for you.) This ability is called neuroplasticity—the concept that “neurons that fire together wire together.” In simple terms, the more we repeat a thought, the more our brain starts to accept it as truth. Over time, that repeated message replaces the original fact-based belief, and we begin to operate as if the new version is the truth.

Why wouldn’t we use this existing process to our greatest advantage? This is the best brain hack; it’s mental training at its finest.

And mental fitness is the ultimate form of self-care.

The more you use these positive statements and focus on the outcomes you want, the quicker you’ll begin to believe them, and the faster they’ll begin manifesting. Eventually, your mind will get fed up with the internal argument, and those negative thoughts will start to decrease. As they recede and the positive statement takes their place, you’ll feel much more motivated to take action. The more motivated you are, the more work you’ll put in. The more you hustle for what you want, the more opportunities will come your way—and the faster you’ll get your desired results.

It’s a simple, connected formula that you can implement to get anything you want.

Can you see how a motto or affirmation, even one that felt like a lie at first, sets off a positive domino effect? It has the power to impact motivation, actions, words, beliefs, hustle, and ultimately your results. It’s so freakin‘ cool!

Personal Work ✍️

Take a moment to uncover your beliefs. Write down anything and everything that comes to mind about the following topics—or anything else that feels important. Be 100 percent honest. Don’t filter. You can’t rewire a belief you haven’t identified.

● What do I believe about myself?

● What do I believe about my capabilities?

● What kind of person, parent, friend, partner, or coworker am I?

● What do I believe about money?

● What do I believe about my potential for success, happiness, or getting what I want?

● Generally speaking, what do I believe about people?

● What do I believe about God, the Universe, or my faith?

● What do I believe about love?

Now that you understand how your beliefs are formed and how they shape your reality, it’s time to take the next step in our knowledge and understanding of the fundamental building blocks of Think It. In the next chapter, you’ll be learning my revolutionary concept of mental offense and defense. Understanding this is the key to getting new results using the Think It tools.

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