Why your grades are average or just flat out suck...

In this article, we will take a look at how beliefs operate in a more practical way. As I have said, the importance of your beliefs cannot be overstated. They are the most important factor in determining the quality of your life, be it in academics or any other life area. Your beliefs are responsible for: who you think you are, how you behave, and who you will become. Given the enormity of their importance, let’s take a closer look at where our beliefs come from. As we work through this, I’d like you to think about where some of your own beliefs regarding study may have come from. Essentially there are two main theories on how beliefs are formed. The first theory we will look at is the conventional wisdom on the matter. As we shall see, this widely held theory is actually misguided.

Theory 1: Academic experiences shape your beliefs

This theory is very widely held simply because it just seems so obvious. In fact, what this theory suggests seems so self-evident, most people would not even refer to it as a theory: it’s just taken as the truth! Let’s have a look at what this theory really says. To make it even clearer, we will use the example of beliefs about study and how they might be formed in the typical student. There are essentially three steps in this theory. At step 1, the student starts off with absolutely no beliefs regarding their own academic abilities.

Step 1: The student starts off with absolutely no firm beliefs about their academic capabilities or future. They are essentially a ‘blank slate’.

Next, what happens is that the student will interact with the world and have certain experiences and outcomes. According to the theory, it is these outcomes that are the most important thing in forming beliefs. At step 2 the student might sit an exam and get an F grade for example.

Step 2: The student has certain

experiences that inform their beliefs.

Finally, after receiving information from the world, the student draws conclusions about themselves and their own abilities. The ‘F’ grade in this example has shown the student that they are ‘non-academic’ or perhaps even ‘stupid’.

Step 3: After having a negative experience, the student learns the

‘truth’ about themselves.

This is essentially what most people think happens in the formation of beliefs. In the vast majority of cases, people are convinced that the beliefs they hold about themselves (or indeed anything else) have actually come about due to the objective weighing up of real ‘evidence’. Everyone believes that there are excellent reasons supporting the beliefs they hold. However, there is something missing from this theory. In my opinion, it holds one massive assumption that actually makes it entirely invalid. The problem with this theory is that it assumes the student started off (at step 1) with a ‘blank slate’. According to the theory we will examine next, this is not the case.

Part 2 will tell you the truth about how your beliefs are formed and is coming soon...

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