Empower Newsletter – December 2015
Welcome to the December 2015 edition of the Empower Newsletter. This month the focus is on creating awareness around ‘what’ evidence we are gathering.
Do you know?
‘what evidence you are gathering’
I have noticed lately that there has been a lot of negative talk about sharks, terrorism and politics.
This led me to think about how easily beliefs are formed. By constantly hearing about these often one sided events from media, work colleagues, family or friends, we often form opinions about them. Once we have formed our views we then start to gather evidence to support them. When we have gathered enough evidence it then becomes something we believe wholeheartedly to be true, a belief.
Are you gathering evidence to support a belief that sharks are bad or are you gathering evidence to support a belief that sharks are misunderstood? Neither belief is right or wrong, there is evidence to support both views.
Throughout our lives we have gathered evidence to support some very empowering beliefs. However we have also gathered evidence to support some disempowering beliefs that do not serve, support or nurture us.
It is certainly time to change a belief when it no longer serves, supports or nurtures us! For example, if we no longer partook in our passion for surfing or swimming in the ocean because of a fear of being attacked by a shark, it may be time to take a serious look at changing our belief.
The scary thing is we have gathered evidence to support beliefs about ourselves in the same way.
If we are looking for them, we will always find things that we are not good at, we will find something that we consider a flaw about ourselves and we will find bad traits in family and friends.
What we focus on is what we will get!
By starting to focus on positive things about ourselves and others, we will find them! We will start to see things we are good at, we will notice great attributes about ourselves, and we will find great qualities in our family and friends.
So if you want more of what you are getting keep focusing on that but if you don’t , start focusing on what you do want and gathering evidence to support it until it become your new belief!
Definition
Evidence
a) That which tends to prove or disprove something; ground for belief; proof.
b) Something that makes plain or clear; an indication or sign.
Something to Ponder
“We can’t help believing. Our brains evolved to connect the dots of our world into meaningful patterns that explain why things happen. These meaningful patterns become beliefs. Once beliefs are formed the brain begins to look for and find confirmatory evidence in support of those beliefs, which adds an emotional boost of further confidence in the beliefs and thereby accelerates the process of reinforcing them, and round and round the process goes in a positive feedback loop of belief confirmation.”
~ Dr. Michael Shermer ~
Quote of the Month
“I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I’ll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be.”
~ Isaac Asimov ~
Affirmation Corner
‘I gather evidence to support beliefs that will serve, support or nurture me.’
Newsletters | Di | 
November 30, 2015 3:15 pm
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