The most profound thing you could possibly do in your life is to change a core belief. Why? Because core beliefs affect everything in your world.

I would not have believed it had I not experienced it in my own life. As I wrote in “Why I Revealed My Shameful Secret (And Why You Should Too…)“, when I discovered (and changed) my core belief about myself, everything changed (for the better)!

But before you dive headfirst into core-belief-changing-mode, there is something critical you should know about beliefs:

All beliefs are not created equal.

And to treat all beliefs equal leaves us very confused about the very nature of beliefs and what to do with them.

You see, some beliefs are wimpy. They don’t have a lot of strength or power, because they are not deeply ingrained and/or they are not about things you really care about. I call these Level One beliefs. A Level One belief is also sometimes simply an assumption you have made about something, without having facts or experience to the contrary.

Examples of Level One beliefs are:

If you don’t dress warmly in cold weather you’ll catch a cold.

Southerners are hospitable.

It is wise to save for a rainy day.

You shouldn’t sign a contract when Mercury is in retrograde.

Porcupines are prickly to touch.

None of the above beliefs are likely very important to anyone (well, I guess some people take Mercury retrograde pretty seriously…). However, a Level One belief could, theoretically, change into a Level Two belief if it should become important to you for some reason.

Imagine if, suddenly every cold virus was guaranteed to be fatal. The belief “If you don’t dress warmly in cold weather you’ll catch a cold.” suddenly carries a lot more importance in your world and moves from a Level One belief to a Level Two belief.

Level Two beliefs are strong and powerful in your world because they are important to you and your reality. They are also likely to be more deeply ingrained into your subconscious. Level Two beliefs are by far the majority of the beliefs you will change in your ongoing pursuit to consciously create a life you love.

Examples of Level Two beliefs are:

Rich people are greedy opportunists.

Success is difficult.

Men are liars.

Women are controlling.

Money is hard to make.

The universe is not abundant.

It’s a dog eat dog world out there. 

Level Two beliefs are no more “real” than Level One beliefs. But because they are more important to us, we give them weight and meaning and thus power. Level Two beliefs are also more likely to be deeply ingrained and thus more difficult to change (notice I said “more difficult,” not impossible).

And that brings us to Level Three beliefs. Level Three beliefs are core beliefs. Core beliefs are the most impactful beliefs we have because they are about the deepest nature of who we (believe we) are and what (we believe) our world is. Core beliefs affect every single part of our lives; they are intensely important to us, and usually very deeply ingrained. These are the most difficult beliefs to change (and still no where near impossible). And the kicker is, until we look for them, we never even know they are there.

Examples of Level Three (core) beliefs are:

I am not good enough (yeah, this was mine).

I don’t deserve.

I’m not important.

The world is a dangerous and scary place.

I am a victim.

Life’s a bitch.

I’m flawed.

I don’t matter.

Knowing that beliefs create reality, imagine the above beliefs flowing through your “reality creating system” on a 24/7 basis? Yeah, it bites.

How do you know a belief is yours?

There are a myriad of ways to determine if you hold a belief, no matter what “level” belief it is. But the most important question to ask yourself is, “What do I feel in the pit of my stomach about who I am?” Or, “What do I feel in the pit of my stomach about the kind of world I live in?”

It is important to remember it’s unlikely you have more than one Level Three or “core belief” about yourself, and perhaps one about the nature of the world. They are called “core” for a reason… they are at the center of “you”.

The next question to ask yourself, once you have a suspicion about a core belief that might be yours, is: “Does my reality show I hold this belief?”

Reality never lies. Your reality is always a reflection of the energy you are emitting through your thoughts, feelings and beliefs. What is yours showing you?

Do you continually sabotage yourself?

Do you have difficulty imagining a life you absolutely 100% adore?

Do things almost always turn out worse than you’d hoped?

Are you constantly taken aback by “bad” things happening in your life?

Do you compare yourself with others and always come up short?

Do you  get one area of your life working and (mysteriously) another one falls apart?

These are not absolute indicators of holding a limiting core belief. Some other reasons you might create realities like those above are: if you didn’t have a clear dream, or you weren’t flowing energy towards that dream, or taking action on your dream, or looking for the universe’s response to your dream (basically The Map in a nutshell).

But if you have one or more of the above realities (or numerous others that are just as constricting) combined with a feeling in the pit of your stomach when you think about one of the beliefs listed above (or it could be another core belief—that list is not all-inclusive either), there is a good probability that you do hold a Level Three or “core” belief.

And knowing you have a limiting core belief is GREAT NEWS—because now you can change it.

In joyous creation,

Learn exactly HOW to change a core belief here: “It’s Easier Than You Think-How to Change a Core Belief”