confirmation bias

Mantras that Can Change Everything

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How do my beliefs affect others? What happens when I change a belief?

Beliefs set up cause-effect relationships that I defend. For example, I might perceive myself as poor because I don’t make enough money to comfortably pay my debts. I’m perceiving a do->be cause->effect relationship between not making enough money [do/cause] and being poor [be/effect]. I codify this into a self-talk mantra, “I can’t make enough because I’m poor…”

I may have defended and fortified this relationship with substantial amounts of evidence. Yet, all that evidence and its interpretations are based on the same premise – the SAME underlying BELIEF. I have codified this into an even shorter, yet convincing mantra – a self-judgment – “I’m poor.”

It’s as though my belief has its own life and my experiences are its evidence. From anyone’s perspective, what I believe is the way things are – in my perception.

Beliefs cause perceptual effects that confirm those beliefs. Do you see the logical cause-effect loop in this formula? I like this formula so well, I’ve incorporated it into a bias – confirmation bias that affects everything I perceive:

“…the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.” (Plous, Scott (1993). The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making. p. 233)

Change your cause-effect relationships and you change your belief – oh, and did I mention that you change the world as a result?

Cause-Effect Relationships

Let’s improve the probability of a NEW BELIEF by assigning it new cause-effect relationships. It’s your human nature to create cause-effect relationships at will. The example above illustrates this ability.

It occurs to me that one must release their hold on what is right, justified, and proper, to make a belief change. That means starting the process inside the First-Second Degree of Illumination bubble – becoming aware of and then challenging my beliefs.

Below are some simple mantras you can practice that may start the process of breaking up old cause-effect relationships and open doors to taking charge of them. You do mantras all the time (mostly negative) that you’ve grown so accustomed to that you maybe take them for granted. Remember confirmation bias? Now, as we exercise AWARENESS, things can get interesting.

Four Simple Mantras to Change Everything:

  1. “I could be wrong about this.” Say it as many times as you can every day. So long as you believe you are right, you will continue to justify your past behavior and strengthen those old cause-effect relationships into the future.
  2. “Everything I perceive is feedback for ME.” Remember, this mantra is about your perception.
  3. “I now have exactly what I most want.” This fortifies your accountability for creating your life.
  4. “Everything is as it is because I believe it’s that way.” This mantra acknowledges the source of accountability in your universe – you!

The matrix I call my life is an interesting thing due to how beliefs affect the universe – when a belief changes, everything changes, including supportive evidence like memories, societal expectations and norms, and perceptions. For that reason, once a belief has truly changed, it may go unnoticed – as though the new way of being has always been the only way of being. Any evidence to the contrary will simply be ignored or re-spun to fit the new belief – just as I do now with the beliefs I currently defend.

I’ve not left my perceptual bubble. I’ve simply taken a step toward fully accepting accountability for it.

Patterns of Prediction or How I Avoid Humiliation and Awakening

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Patterns – it’s the stuff of life. I don’t perceive reality – I literally create it with assumptions – based on my perception of patterns. I assume a pattern as soon as I “guess” that one exists. After that, I tend to “fill in the blanks” rather than test my hypothesis (my “guess”).

To illustrate my point, consider the following:

1, 2, 3…

Can you predict the next number? Of course you can. You assume it is 4. That’s because you perceive a familiar pattern. But, what if it is not 4. What if it is 5 instead? Is the pattern broken? Maybe – unless you can perceive a new pattern, you will not be able to predict the next or the next number.

Read more Patterns of Prediction or How I Avoid Humiliation and Awakening ›

Confirmation Bias and the Placebo Effect

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When I feel ill I want to get a confirmation of my diagnosis from my doctor – placebo effect.

I believe my doctor can help make me feel better – placebo effect.

I set myself up for what the doctor diagnoses – placebo effect.

On the way to the doctor’s office, I reassure myself I’m making the right move – placebo effect.

I may have to wait to be seen. I ruminate over my story about why I’m not feeling well. In my mind, I reassure myself again that the doctor knows best for me – placebo effect.

Doc asks me about my symptoms, confirming my belief that they care – placebo effect + confirmation bias.

In story form, I tell the doctor what and maybe why I’m feeling ill, hoping to elicit confirmation from them – placebo effect.

I anticipate the doctor’s perspective based on what I believe is their training and experience in treating others with the symptoms I have – placebo effect.

I cooperate to my fullest during the exam – placebo effect.

The doctor prescribes medication or other treatment instructions. I agree and thank them – placebo effect + confirmation bias.

I may have to drive to get my medications. All the way there, I feel so grateful my doctor is a good doctor and wrote me the right prescription – placebo effect + confirmation bias.

I take my medication as prescribed – placebo effect.

I anticipate getting better – placebo effect.

When I do feel better, I confirm my belief in the process – placebo effect confirmed.

There isn’t a moment that goes by free of confirmation bias – which bias strengthens the placebo effect. Which raises a question:

If most or all of my life is governed by the placebo effect strengthened by my confirmation bias, how much healing is actually done by someone outside me?