Peeling Back The Layers Of “Life Is Hard”

Do you believe “Life is hard”?

As you read that statement, did you say “yes” even if a moment later you said “no”’?

As you read that statement, did you find yourself saying “Life is hard some of the time, but not all the time”?

“Life is hard” is one of those beliefs that can pop up when you least expect it or it can be a part of your everyday experience.

Why is that?

Well, it’s all about perception, reinforcement, containerizing and peeling back the layers…

PERCEPTION

Like all beliefs, “Life is hard” is a perception and not a fact.

Yes, there may be times when you believe life is hard or good, but both are perceptions based on what you believe makes life appear to be hard or good.

That is why you may look at the life of another and believe that they have a hard or good life, yet if you ask them, they may believe the opposite.

That is why on some days, you may believe your life is hard or you may believe your life is good.

It’s all about perception.

Beliefs are all about perception.

REINFORCEMENT

The belief “Life is hard” (like all beliefs) is a perception that is first absorbed into your subconscious via the beliefs of others, then by your own observations of reality (and reaction to) through the lens of those perceptions.

The perception of “Life is hard” is reinforced throughout your life to a more or lesser degree by the reality you choose to expose yourself to…for example:

• Family, friends, coworkers, neighbours, etc. talking about how they are overworked, underpaid, overwhelmed, feeling like they aren’t measuring up, can’t catch a break, etc.

• Messaging in the media and from others about what defines a ‘good’ life. I.E…you too can have a better life if you climb the corporate ladder, find the perfect mate, have the latest tech gadget, travel the world, buy the McMansion in an upscale neighbourhood, have a perfect body, etc.

• Doom and gloom news articles that far outweigh good news stories.

All of this messaging reinforces the belief that “life is hard”.

CONTAINERIZING

“Life is hard” is a container belief.

It’s a belief that is actually comprised of many different beliefs and mindsets.

It is through understanding this that you can begin to let go of the belief that life is hard and overtime, this container belief will become smaller and eventually become inconsequential in your thought process and in your life.

How?

By peeling back the layers of beliefs and mindsets that make-up your container belief.

LAYERS

The container belief of “Life is hard” is made up of a multitude of related beliefs and mindsets.

Because it is made up of related beliefs and mindsets, it can be a tricky one to let go of (and even know you have at a conscious level).

Yes, while you can recite positive affirmations to yourself like “Life is good”; “Life is great”; “Life is amazing”, etc. (which is a great start and can be very effective), it is often not enough and you will still have experiences which will cause you to believe that life is hard.

To really unearth it, you need to dig into the layers of your catch-all container of “life is hard”.

Once you know what makes up your container belief, you can then see each of them as the lack perception they are and create new abundant based facts that will over time discredit (and dissolve) the belief that life is hard.

How?

By asking yourself why and listening to the reasons why you believe life is hard.

Ask yourself “why do I believe that life is hard?” and pay attention to what comes into your mind; your responses. (Note: sometimes, it can take a little while for those responses to surface and that’s okay – they will eventually come up the more you ask).

For example, you may have responses like:

• Life is hard because I have to work so hard all the time.

• Life is hard because I never have enough money; never seem to have enough money.

• Life is hard because I get sick all the time.

• Life is hard because my family doesn’t support me.

• Life is hard because I don’t have enough customers.

• Life is hard because I can never seem to get ahead.

• Etc.

Once you have a list of whys behind why you believe life is hard, the next step is to ask “why do I believe those why statements?”

For example, let’s look at “Life is hard because I have to work so hard all the time”:

Ask yourself, “why do I believe that I have to work so hard all the time?”

What will come up in response to that will be the core beliefs and mindsets you have associated with that statement.

For example:

• Winners never quit.

• You have to work night and day to get ahead in this world.

• Only the good finish first.

• You can’t rely on others to take care of you.

• Women never get ahead.

• Life is all about sacrifice.

• People don’t like lazy people.

• etc.

These beliefs are the layers that make up your container belief of “Life is hard”!

When you drill into these associated beliefs (and mindsets), you can ask yourself for each “is this really true?”

Once you see that they are also simply perceptions, you can replace them with facts that are true and abundant based which in turn will help to change your container belief of “Life is hard” to a new container of “Life is good”.

It’s all about perception!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Can you see that believing “Life is hard” is a perception you created? Can you see how your perception of “Life is…” is playing out in your life? Can you see beliefs (whether you would call them abundant or lack based) are all based on perception?

LET’S CONSIDER “LIFE IS….’” AT A GLOBAL LEVEL

For a little expanding thought, imagine asking this question of your family; your community; the people in your country; all the people in the world.

What do you think the overall answer would be to what they believe “Life is…”?

Imagine what the experience of all life on this planet would be if we all saw it from the perspective of “Life is good”.

‘Til next time if you liked this, please social share it via the links below. Together we can help create a global mind shift.