How do you believe?

Question: 

What is Belief? 

How do does one go about believing? 

Answer:

Belief is the result of two principles; theory and practice. First a person develops or is given a theory of why or how they think something works, or how it came to be. Then they begin to live their lives as if the theory were true.


Additional details:

The longer an individual maintains a particular belief, the more likely they are to feel that positive or negative things happen as a result of that belief. Whether that is true or not is speculative. Some philosophers have posited that there is no objective reality, and that a person's perception of the world is filtered through beliefs that were imposed upon them by their elders as their young minds were developing.


It is difficult to quantify the power of belief though many have posited that people become what they believe they have the potential to be, and that having beliefs can help individuals maintain a sense of purpose in their lives.


For example, if one decides to believe in the power of positive thinking, over time, they will begin to react to the world as a place full of possibilities, in which any number of beneficial things could happen. This belief instills a sense of hope that can help them through rougher times. It may also keep them looking for the silver lining in a situation that could aid in their ability to find solutions that more pessimistic thinkers might have overlooked.


Adversely, beliefs can also be manipulated and used to control people who do not have the mental fortitude to question authority or sources.