French Onion Soup

Have you ever noticed that people get stuck in their own personal beliefs?

To be clear, by “people”, I do include myself. And before anyone gets offended, which I find happens far too often now’a’days, let me clarify that I am not referring to religious beliefs – I mean personal beliefs about one’s self. We all get stuck in this pattern of recycled beliefs which we carry with us.

Here is what I’ve observed:

What starts as a feeling, then becomes a habit, which becomes a belief.

You feel a certain way about something one day, so it becomes your belief that you ALWAYS feel this way. “I don’t like French Onion Soup” is what I said when I was a kid, and believed it. Truly did.

It was a belief.

The feeling that I didn’t like French Onion Soup, turned into a habit, and then a belief.

I mean, I never liked onions as a kid, so for years, anything with onions would just turn me off. I missed out on so many great meals, and never realized it. Then slowly by surely, in my 30s, I gave them a chance. And low and behold, “Adult-Me” actually likes onions. Not all the time, or in all fashions, but my belief is no longer true – my new truth was that I sometimes like onions. Imagine my surprise!

I challenged my belief, and I learned something about myself.

We always think we know ourselves so well, but never forget that we change every day.

With that in mind, I went for lunch with mom last week.

I saw it on the menu, as I had a million times:

“French Onion Soup”

This time, instead of fueling the belief, I wanted to know if I liked it TODAY. I wanted to get unstuck from the belief and see if today, I am a person who likes French Onion soup. Why not?

The verdict? It was great. Not amazing, not something I would order very often, but I DID like it.

All this time, I believed that I wouldn’t, but I pushed myself outside of my own belief and discovered a good warm soup that I would not have discovered otherwise. Feelings can change, folks, they can.

I challenge you then - apply this idea to your daily decisions and see how your perspective changes.

I hate that show, I hate that song, I hate this or that. People “hate” so easily now, and don’t realize that often times, it’s a belief that they carried with them for so long that it became a habit, a part of them, even if that might not be how they actually feel anymore because they haven't challenged their own personal beliefs about it, or taken the time to get to know themselves today. Sometimes it's even another person's belief that we take on as our own. So many times I've seen kids say "I don't like broccoli" because their mother doesn't like broccoli, and so the belief is carried and passed down.

But we are all different, and we all change every day, constantly. This cannot be stopped.

So why do our beliefs get stuck like they’ve become a law?

Don’t get stuck, allow yourself to grow. What if you DO like the thing you think you don’t?

Challenge your beliefs and your old habits – get to know the YOU and YOU are today. Everyday is a new you, never stop getting to know yourself every day. You may be surprised by who you become!

And you might discover really good soup in the process.

Today, I like French Onion Soup. I may not tomorrow, or I may still – I’ll just find out then.

And remember; behind the fuzzy clouds, there's always clear skies.

MarMar Oaks