A Brick Wall Belief.
A brick wall belief is like a house: it’s made of many bricks, and each brick has the same value, because, without any one of them, the house would collapse. A brick wall is built for protection against intruders. It’s not built to keep us out, but to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. They are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.
Belief unleashes us through laser focus, and it burns through doubt and distractions. It is the ignition that activates our ability to operate at max capacity. It gives us full access to our talent and ability. It is the trigger that empowers us to perform at our very best.
Many of our basic belief systems are created during childhood, as we learn about the world around us. All our experiences are processed and grouped, creating belief systems about ourselves and other people. As we go through life, more and more experiences like bricks in the wall are added into our belief systems, strengthening, and reinforcing them.
A belief is a firm, fixed, unshakeable brick wall that allows us to see everything in system-tinted spectacles. It is a feeling of certainty about what something means. It creates a map that guides us toward our goals and gives us the power to act. The challenge is that most of our beliefs are generalisations about our past, based on our interpretations of painful and pleasurable experiences. Often, we are unconscious about what we believe and how those beliefs affect our actions.
Under pressure we don’t rise to the occasion, we rise or sink to the level of our belief. Challenging situations put pressure on our mental toughness. Talent isn’t enough. Physical training isn’t enough. We must be fully engaged mentally. In other words, we must believe. This is because our body follows our mind. The highest levels of performance require the deepest levels of belief. Elite performers win in their minds first.
A great example is the New England Patriots in the 2017 Super Bowl. In the Third Quarter, the Atlanta Falcons were dominating the Patriots. The Falcons had a 28-3 lead, and it looked like an almost certain victory for Atlanta. No team in the history of the Super Bowl had ever come back from a deficit that big.
But then New England elevated their play. Their defence started getting stops and their offence started scoring points. As the Fourth Quarter began, you could see and feel New England’s belief getting stronger, and you could see and feel Atlanta’s belief starting to waver. With a minute left in the Fourth Quarter, the Patriots scored to tie the game and went on to win in overtime.
It was the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. Belief played a big part. The Patriots played poorly, and the Falcons played well for 3½ quarters. But the Patriots never lost faith, and their belief kicked in when they needed it most. It empowered them to accomplish something that had never been done and which looked almost impossible at the time.
Belief sees the invisible. It sees what has not yet been accomplished. It sees the goal and the path required to achieve our goal. The path is the work that must be done, and when we believe, we develop a crystal-clear vision of what that work looks like. We see ourselves training, practising, performing, and achieving.
Resilience is the ability to respond and bounce back from adversity. It is the capacity to navigate through challenges, difficulties, and setbacks. Belief doesn’t just survive adversity; it gets stronger because of it. It is what animates the ability to respond to any situation with extraordinary toughness, tenacity, and determination.