Quantum Physics of Belief – Fear Based Decision Making

Since the beginning of the year, I was writing about quantum physics and business research to explore the correlation between the science of consciousness and patterns in the business world, to suggest innovative ways of using this wisdom to lead and succeed in a business environment that is constantly evolving at a rapid pace. Once we reach a greater understanding of how we are actualizing the world, we’ll do a lot of things differently. One of the big ones will be controlling how we let information from the external world influences our emotions.

[BTW, did you listen to my radio talk on Quantum Physics of Belief – Emotions couple of weeks ago? It was a huge success and attracted a lot of listeners preferring to download the show. If you haven’t already, please access the archive at #BlogTalkRadio and we are going to refer to some of the concepts that I discussed in that presentation.]

In our conventional way of looking at the world, we would say that reading news is simply getting ourselves informed about what is happening or likely to happen. Most people still believe what is happening out there in the world is largely out of our control and happening to us. They see the news as a source to tell them what could potentially hit next. Based on what we are now learning about our beliefs and emotions playing an active role in creating our world, we can no longer hold such a view.

Physics research presents undeniable evidence that we are actualizing our world, not just through our actions, but also directly through our thoughts and emotions. From the previous articles in this Quantum Physics of Belief series we know that conditions in the physical world are being directly influenced by the contents of our beliefs and emotions. We have plenty of evidence showing that events and conditions in the external world will conform to our beliefs, with the beliefs coming first, followed by the experience.

We also see the impact of group energy, or consciousness, on the creation of experience in the realm of business. Business research shows that organizations manifest experiences consistent with their belief systems. One example is that belief in abundance, as demonstrated by win-win negotiation tactics, results in higher profitability. Even in a conventional manner of looking at the economy, we know that the level of fear in a society largely determines its future economic conditions.

Once we accept the research and acknowledge the cause effect relationship, we can clearly see the detrimental impact of fear. Fear influences our beliefs and emotions, which in turn negatively influence conditions in the external world. In other words, our personal fear is contributing to unfavorable conditions in the external world. Refusing to feel the fear is not denying the conditions in the world, but rather it is choosing to change them.

Once we realize that belief and emotions precede, or cause, experience, the solution is easier to see. We will simply choose not to subject ourselves to the influx of fear. We may see a headline that conjures up fear, but we’ll quickly move on to another article or change the channel. We’ll know that nothing constructive is achieved by exposing ourselves to fear.

It’s interesting to note that once we walk away from the fear in our news sources, the content of the news will change. Reporters only report on what people will read, so when fear is no longer attractive, they’ll move on. Let’s help them move on sooner.

Fear is one of the most basic of human instincts. It is fear that allowed humanoids to survive during primitive times, and it is still the basis of survival today. Without fear, you would not take the time to look both ways before crossing the street. However, too much constraining fear in the organizational context can produce a gridlock of activities among the people that prevent the establishment of trust.

The absence of unnecessary fear is a huge benefit for any organization. Some fear is good for the self preservation of individuals and organizations, but keeping it at the lowest possible level is liberating and will bring out the best in people.

On a personal level; Fear based decisions can be anything – some of them are big ones, some of them are not as big, sometimes we don’t even realize we make them.

I lived a life based on fear for a long time. I still probably do sometimes, but I have committed to reduce the amount of my fear based decisions to an absolute minimum.

Can I stop doing it altogether? Yes, it is possible. Is it hard? Maybe not, all I have to do is just decide, right? Does it take lots of courage and trust? Absolutely!

Here are some of the things that I did in the last few years to eliminate fear based decisions from my life. I stopped working on a business that had big potential, but wasn’t really aligned with my purpose.

It was tough because I did enjoy that business so I couldn’t say that I was staying in it completely out of fear. But after thinking about it for a while I realized that it was not my purpose and it wasn’t something I saw myself doing and enjoying long term. So I had to let it go. That decision took lots of courage and trust because it also cut down a large part of my income but I don’t regret.

I let go of relationships that were no longer based on love and just drained my energy. I let go of fear to play small and now dream as big as I feel like dreaming. I let go of the need to please certain people.

So, how do we stop making decisions predominantly based on fear? How do you reduce the amount of fear based decisions in your life as much as possible?

1. Find your “Whys”. Why do you want to stop making decision based on fear? Even if they are small ones. Even if you hardly notice doing it. Why do you want to stop? What are your “whys”?

Most likely one of your “whys” is a desire to live a more authentic life. Or maybe a desire to spread the vibe of love and acceptance? Or maybe your “why” is your desire to have that inner knowing that you are being true to yourself?

What are your “whys”?

2. Make unconscious conscious. It is proven that up to 95% of our daily activity is based on the subconscious programming we have downloaded from the past. Most of the decisions we make on a daily basis, we don’t even question. We make them based on that programming.

The result? Lots of fear without us even realizing we have it.

How do you stop living on autopilot? Become Self Aware. Learn being fully present in every moment. Then you’ll be able to consciously make a choice and notice yourself making fear based decision right away.

3. Love and accept yourself.  Only with true love and acceptance can you let go of the part of you that is overtaken by fear.

Accept yourself with all of your imperfection. Accept your worries, doubts. Accept the fact that you were making those fear based decisions.

Accept even the fact that you might continue making them no matter how hard you try to stop. It may sound counterintuitive when I said that, but, trust me, what you resist, persists. Instead of fighting the defeatist behavior, try accepting and face the facts.

4. Find your True Self; find your purpose and passions. Too often we live our lives based on the limitations and standards others imposed on us.

What do you truly want in life? What is your purpose? What are your passions? Amazingly, once we discover our purpose and what we truly are passionate about, making love based decisions and letting go of those that are based on fear becomes so much easier.

5.  Jump, the net will appear. It takes courage to leave a job that is paying your bills and commit to doing what you love. It sometimes takes courage to leave relationships that no longer make you happy.

It takes courage and lots of faith to commit to making decisions not based on fear. Take that courage. 

I think if you follow all of the steps listed above, finding the courage will be easy. I almost dare to say it will happen automatically. At least that is what happened to me.

You may be wondering at this point as to what we should be based on when making decisions, if not on fear; and how can we make decisions based on ‘love’ in a business environment? Typically, most business organizations have 3 types of statements; mission, vision and values that serve as governing tools to help guide the organization in creating the future for their business. The organization's vision is all about where we are headed, what is possible, and all about that potential. The mission is what we will do to get there and what it takes to make that vision come true. Furthermore, if your goal is to create the future of your organization - the lofty goals of your vision statement - then you will want to ensure your work reflects the values you want to see in your business; meaning that your decision making is values based.

Values are deeply held views of what we find worthwhile. They come from many sources: parents, religion, schools, peers, people we admire, and culture. Many go back to childhood. There are others we learn as adults. As with all mental models, there’s a distinction between our “espoused” values, which we profess to believe in, and our “values in action” which actually guide our behaviors. These latter values are coded into our brains at such a fundamental level that we can’t easily see them. We rarely bring them to the surface or question them. That’s why they can create dissonance for us.  Talking about our values can help us to understand our motivation behind our actions. Values can be Positive or Potentially Limiting. For example, honesty, trust and accountability are positive values, whereas blame, revenge and manipulation are potentially limiting.

Positive values are known as virtues. These are the values that emanate from the soul. Potentially limiting values emanate from the conscious or subconscious fear-based beliefs of the ego.

The behaviors associated with potentially limiting values support the ego in meeting its needs. Blame is seen by the ego as a way of avoiding humiliation. Revenge is seen by the ego as a way of getting even. Manipulation is seen by the ego as way of maneuvering to get its needs met.

Personal mastery involves letting go of the ego’s limiting values, and replacing them with the values (virtues) of the soul. In order to let go of your limiting values you must learn how to manage, master or eliminate your fear-based beliefs. When we uncover our values they allow us to transcend the belief structures of our parental and cultural conditioning, so we can become more fully who we are, and live a more authentic life.

Leaders with well-developed emotional self-awareness are more effective intuitive decision makers. In complex situations, intuitive decision makers process large amounts of sometimes unstructured and ambiguous data, and they choose a course of action based on a "gut feeling" or a "sense" of what's best. This type of decision making is becoming more important for managers as the rate of change and the levels of uncertainty and complexity in their competitive environments increase. Managers who are highly emotionally self-aware are better able to read their "gut feelings" and use them to guide decisions.

Live with love, live with purpose, passion, and values!