25 Guiding Principles or Power Beliefs to Communicate to Yourself Every Morning for a Good Life- Siddhartha Sharma (#27)

Author Siddhartha Sharma- Love Your Mondays and Retire Young

What are beliefs?

Beliefs are thoughts or systems we have stopped evaluating and no longer question. We accept that they are true.

Once formed beliefs impact and shape the boundaries of our thinking and hence behavior. The summation of all beliefs shapes your identity which is the spine (supporting structure) of the human ego.

How beliefs are created? Cheat codes from your own trial and error and your ability to read reality. We as humans can only read reality, and come as close as our circumstances and ambition allow.

1. Brain and human body development- Did you get the opportunity to get basic nutrition to develop your cognitive skills to the fullest.
2. Education- The quality of schooling and self-schooling determines your learning field. Education teaches you to stay curious and to question all assumptions that may have been wrongly established due to some limitations (hardware, software, data points, or talent) involved in the analysis. Your education eventually becomes the greatest contributor to your reputation as an expert. On the dark side, a lack of scientific education can make you superstitious.
3. Experience- Your own personal experience shape you as well. This is the reason why siblings studying in the same school and living in the same environment, turn out to be different individuals.
4. Network or environment- Your network of people consisting of family members, friends, teachers, or colleagues from your environment. You try to replicate what you see your role models doing in their own lives. They are the people who have moral, family-bestowed, or professional authority over you.

All the above four factors are constantly playing their role individually and simultaneously in your life. They create, shape, and sustain the beliefs that act as the cheat codes of your life.

Remember something, that while it is difficult to overwrite old beliefs, it is easier to introduce newer beliefs. This is also an effective mechanism to overwrite old beliefs or habit mechanisms.

How beliefs are destroyed?

Beliefs get disrupted only by significant emotional events. According to my research, the following 4 kinds of loops have the power to overwrite beliefs.

1. Success Loop (very rare)- Life surprises you with a mega-lottery win or upside (crypto investments 1000x reward can change your belief about how money is earned)
2. Failure Loop- You fail despite giving your best and then you realize that you as an individual cannot control all variables. You begin to see new variables both controllable and uncontrollable ones which were hidden by your belief-blindspots.
3. Trauma Loop- Some people or situations you take for granted surprise you. If a serious health threat looms, then people change their food and exercise beliefs
4. Compassion Loop- You see someone in misery and instantly your compassion takes charge. You stop thinking about yourself (your preset beliefs and what they want you to do). There is some element of God’s grace and moral compass that plays a role in activating the compassion loop. You start treating others with respect and judge them only on ultra-serious matters.

As I try to grow as a speaker, coach, author, and more importantly as a human, I have learned to question a lot of things and yet keeping a set of guiding beliefs to simplify decision-making for myself.

So what are the best beliefs to have? Here are 25 Power-Beliefs I use every morning. Read them and see if you like to internalize them to simplify your journey

1. Chase Intentional Personal Growth over Evolution Growth (IPG Quotient) - Evolution is a great teacher, but it is a very slow equalizer. Study 4 most important areas- health, wealth, relationship, spirituality, and progress in all these areas. What are your learning systems and how healthy they are?
2. Smart Goals Quotient (G.Q)- Your goals determine your direction and eventually destination. Write down your 3–4 goals daily and actions you need to take daily for their fruition. Takes 5–10 minutes but helps in keeping you focused. If you do not have goals for the day, then nonsense takes charge of your day. People’s agenda, laziness, urgent yet dumb matters, and entertainment will take over and will determine how your day ends. Keep 3–4 core priorities at the core of your day and accomplish them before lethargy strikes. Go for daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly missions and create a game plan to win those missions.
3. The World Record Quotient (WRQ) — Based on my goals, I always keep a track of the world’s top 10 humans in that domain. This does something great to stretch the human mind and limitations that automatically creep into our daily lives.
4. Potential and Progress Quotient (P. P.Q)- Just because you study the world record holders does not mean you have to be like them immediately. Aim to be good in the areas that matter to you. How are you becoming better at things-personal, professional, or social skills? Do not worry too much about the speed of the progress especially during the initial period of what you are trying to accomplish.
5. Creation and Contribution Quotient (C.C.Q)- Try to create something that uses your unique skills and then share it with the world. See if you can create a business that can solve a problem. All employees are contributors to a business that is solving a problem. Being a contributor is any time better than being only a consumer. Life is a choice of 5 acts- creation, contribution, coaching, criticizing, and consumption. Consumption is automatic, creation takes commitment.
6. Inspiration and Discipline Quotient (I.D.Q)- Find what inspires you to be more disciplined. Inspired and disciplined people can produce motivation on demand. They do not rely on motivation and incentives to do what they want to do. They focus on what must be done and then do it with all their might. They learn from their failures and study the best in class to become better in life. I have clubbed inspiration and discipline intentionally as they both feed into each other. Your own values act as your greatest inspiration.
7. Past Dead, Present, and Future (PDPF Quotient)- Past is dead. Present and future are all you have left. Visit past only for the twin purposes of learning and expressing gratitude. Good or bad, give up your past. This will keep you grounded.
8. Zero Limitation Quotient- It is dumb to place limitations on your potential mentally and emotionally. This also does not mean that you take irresponsible risks, make unreasonable demands, and consider yourself invincible. This is more about exploring intelligently what is possible for you to accomplish. What boundaries of your potential are fixed and what are flexible? A lot of us can do a lot more things than we think we are capable of doing.
9. 3 Solution Quotient (3SQ)- While outlining every problem to self or others, I prioritize and then document 3 solutions that exist. They may not be the best solutions, but they are the 3 best ones that I could come up with based on time expectations and accumulated wisdom I have. I also try to record some of the best solutions that I can in my journals. Always ask yourself- are you part of the solution or stuck on the problem. What you focus on magnifies in life, so focus on the solution.
10. Learning Speed Quotient(LSQ)-Be open to learn and explore the smartest and fastest routes to learn new things. Learning is the super-power of the 21st century. People who do not learn and reinvent themselves, often get kicked by the surprises of life. Read for 30 minutes every day and listen to the best online learning materials. There is a lot of noise out there too, so do your research to find the voices worth listening to.
11. Confident Response Quotient (CRQ)- Be confident about your ability to handle situations that your personal and professional life throws at you. This response is particularly well-suited to the unavoidable problems of life. What must be avoided, must not be faced with courage. What must be faced, must be faced courageously. Try to be competent in few areas of your life through preparation and it will exponentially increase the confidence you exhibit. The habit of reading personal growth books, regular exercising, and public speaking helped me evolve as a confident individual. I am still a work-in-progress and will always like to progress.
12. Meaning Quotient (or Meaningless Quotient)- MQ over MLQ- Your life has no meaning but it is your responsibility to give some meaning to it through your actions, words, and creation. Once in a while, life will prove your meaning to be wrong but it is okay. Adapt and attach a better meaning. If do not find some meaning in your life, meaningless will take over. Human life is like a ship on a voyage. Every ship will eventually be dismantled or decommissioned or cast away in the ocean but this does not mean that being a floating wood is a better way of living. Take a meaningful voyage.
13. Knowledge Pain Quotient (KPQ)- Knowledge and information can be consumed endlessly. We are now living in a world where knowledge creation outpaces knowledge consumption exponentially. It is not possible for a human brain to consume all the knowledge present in the world on any given topic. Learning is important but it is very important to select what you want to learn and how you plan to use what you learned without giving in to the urge to learn more. Let action release dopamine in your body rather than only learning related to the action. Do not get me wrong, I am a fan of learning new things but if you find peace only in learning, you did not do justice to your learning. The end purpose of learning is effort. The end purpose of the effort is progress and service. Do not be the dog who chases his own tail endlessly. This is particularly relevant for people chasing motivation by listening to hundreds of speakers, authors, and coaches. Do not fall in love with hustle, focus on progress too.
14. Bio-chemical Quotient (BCQ)- I also understand that while the human brain and mind are like the operating system that governs a lot of things, the human body also has the hardware of systems and drivers that have to support the operating system and vice versa. Research and give your body the best nutrition that makes the systems perform effortlessly. Explore the concepts of intermittent fasting, sugarless diets, and hormone-aligned diets. Exercise and sweat for 30 minutes daily as highlighted in the GYMS quotient.
15. GYMS Quotient ( Gym, Yoga, Meditation, Sprints)- Find what works for you but I have discovered that a combination of all four produces a great calming effect on the human body. The human body does not have to peak early. It can stay in the best shape for a long time if given the right balance of BCQ and GYMSQ.
16. Breathwork Alignment Quotient (BAQ)- The right balance of deep breathing and breathwork (a combination of ancient pranayama techniques) can help you take charge of your feelings and thoughts. Breathing correctly has a direct impact on reducing your stress level and thereby improves your well-being. Your immunity gets better and you take better decisions in life.
17. Gratitude and Victory Quotients (GVQ)- Develop the habit of daily journaling. Document what you are grateful for in life. After writing your list of gratitude, you will feel a sense of calm. Write down your victories and lessons learned from your struggles. Material purchases will make you comfortable, but fulfillment comes from the practice of gratitude. Keep growing but first, be thankful for where you are in life.
18. Complaining Blame Worry Quotient (CBWQ)-Give up complaining and blaming. You have a better chance of changing your life by changing the complaint or worry time, into action time.
19. Silence Quotient- Silence is the best way to control anger and situations around you. Speak only what is necessary and optimizes your chances to get what you want. People who do not know how to be silent at important times usually have broken relationships and cause irreversible damage to situations that can be handled with grace and maturity.
20. Judge less and bless more- Be a person who finds no faults with strangers (people you cannot change) and people you do not intend to change. Let the law of the land handle all the miscreants, do not wreak havoc in your life by being judgemental. The truth is 99% of the people are good people, and all mistakes they make are the result of their belief systems. Think about how can you become your best version and be too busy to judge other people. Help others as much as you can, but choose the candidates who do something with the help. It is also about the right allocation of resources- your time, energy, network, and money. When you do good to others, you are sowing the seeds of kindness.
21. Chess Move Quotient (CMQ)- Life is like a game of chess and it teaches you objectivity. Learn to celebrate the winning games but also cherish the losses because you got beaten by a better player. This should encourage you to be a better player and eventually win in life. Never lose intentionally but never cry over the outcome of a game well-played. This will make you a better problem solver and objective observer in life. Another way to view it is like the video game paradigm I highlighted in my book-Love Your Mondays and Retire Young. Life is playing a video game with you as the protagonist. Play it well and you get to advance to higher levels of health, wealth, relationships, and spirituality.
22. Organizer, Player, and Spectator Quotient (OPSQ)- Be the organizer of the game. If you cannot be the organizer then be the player or the performer in the game. Only if you cannot be an organizer or a player then be the spectator of the game.
23. Runway Quotient (RQ) —Learn to be patient while working on your goals, especially if you are collecting the resources you need to build an unlimited runway. Most people’s careers never take off because they focused more on the piloting skills and quality of the plane without forgetting the need to have a long enough runway. Maintain a low profile, but continue working on your plan.
24. Irreversible Failure Quotient (IFQ)- Avoid irreversible failures or total ruin- breaking a law, getting famous for a wrong act. It is better to avoid these problems, rather than trying to solve these problems. Even if you solve these problems, you will feel like a loser. Solve them, if there is no other option, but in most cases, prevention is still the best cure. Go for reversible failures that stretch your limits and give you feedback on what must change.
25. Flow State or Zone Quotient (ZQ)- As I finish this piece, I just realize I have been sitting and typing for 3 hours. These 3 hours were well spent, and I experienced stillness and peace. Do what takes you in a flow state and makes you lose the concept of time. If your resources and life permits then discover your calling and blossom as a fully grown human. This will give you peace both in the short term as well as the long term.

Discover what you can do with your life and these 25 guiding principles.

I believe in evolving as a writer. I keep on adding new things that I learn to the pieces that I have authored.

Wish you peace, health, happiness, and success in your life.

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Siddhartha- Author Love Your Mondays and Retire Young

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