Article: Are Beliefs Coping Strategies?
-

One strategy for goal attainment is to strengthen our beliefs. But how do beliefs affect risk-taking and improving performance? Since awareness development is the underlying goal, do beliefs hinder or help that process? Could beliefs be a coping method for dealing with stress that hinders awareness development? Let’s investigate.
-
Definition: be•lieve
To have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully.
-
This definition points out two aspects of beliefs. The first point could hinder awareness: we invest our attention in something that isn’t grounded in absolute proof. The second point emphasizes the importance beliefs have in taking action: we act purposefully based on the strength of our belief. Perhaps we can minimize the negative effects on attention and maximize the positive effects on acting purposefully?
-
Beliefs tend to be associated with end results. “I believe falling is dangerous.” End results label an activity in some way, such as “falling” being “dangerous.” Labeling gives us comfort and a way to cope with the stress. We have no absolute proof that we are right; we simply believe it to achieve comfort. We can act purposefully with end result beliefs, but as in falling example, we act purposefully by not learning how to fall. No awareness is increased about falling since we haven’t engaged it.
-
What if we grounded our beliefs in processes instead? “I believe I can learn to fall safely.” “Learn” isn’t a label, but rather a process we can go through. By grounding our beliefs in processes we aren’t “coping” with stress; we actually embrace it. With process beliefs we have no absolute proof that we are right; yet we take action to find that proof and learn. In the case of the falling example, we act purposefully by learning how to fall. Awareness is increased through our engagement.
-