Health Belief

The beauty of health is: it’s yours to fight for. What do the leading causes of death in the United States have in common? Their prevention includes intentionally living a healthy lifestyle. Belief is a major factor in guiding the intention that motivates health behavior. Beliefs guide actions. But what is Belief? It is personal knowledge and acceptance of what a person understands is true, or information that is strongly accepted as true (i.e. “A” hears “B” and, by learned and unlearned factors, accepts “B” as true). This is important because what you accept as true has the ability to directly impact your quality of life. What you accept as true is the difference between life and death, figuratively and literally.

Belief in the Brain

Beliefs form from factors such as memories, beginning during early cognitive development, from experiences, and other sensory inputs that we receive from the environment. Starting near the time of birth, sensory information begins being processed by the brain. In this biochemical process, neurons connect, pathways are forged and formed, synapses are strengthened or pruned. It is part of a dynamic process by which we learn and continue to learn. And this information processing contributes to our belief system.

Your Belief System

Our belief system is a driving force determining our behavior. And our actions can only ever be as good as our belief system allows them to be. So, how is your belief system driving you? And how is it determining your quality of life?