You're Living in a Matrix of Your Own Making
Chandra Eden, The True Me Yogi
You Can Heal Your Life
Author: Louise L. Hay
"The question is, 'Is it true or real?' has two answers. 'Yes' and 'No.' It is true if you believe it to be true. It is not true if you believe it isn't true. The glass is both half full and half empty, depending on how you look at it. There are literally billions of thoughts we can choose to think.
Most of us choose to think the same kinds of thoughts our parents used to think, but we don't have to continue to do this. There is no law written that says we can only think in one way.
Whatever I choose to believe becomes true for me. Whatever you choose to believe becomes true for you. Our thoughts can be totally different. Our lives and experiences are totally different."
You're Living in a Matrix of Your Own Making
Let's play a game. I’ll ask a question, and you give the answer: Is the glass half-full or half-empty? Is that promotion you didn't get a crushing failure or a brilliant opportunity? Is your life a tragic comedy or just a series of unfortunate browser histories?
Here’s the fun part: whatever you answered, you're right. Congratulations. And also, you're wrong. The universe is a fickle beast like that.
A wonderfully simple, yet maddeningly complex, idea suggests that truth isn't some solid, objective thing we can all agree on. The answer to "Is it true or real?" is both yes and no. It’s trueif you believe it is. It’s not trueif you believe it isn’t. Your reality is a build-your-own-adventure story, and your beliefs are the pen you're writing it with.
This isn’t some woo-woo, stick-a-crystal-on-it philosophy. It’s a pragmatic look at the operating system running in your head. You have billions of possible thoughts you could think at any given moment. So why, for the love of all that is holy, do most of us keep choosing the same handful of thoughts we inherited from our parents, our culture, or that one mean kid in third grade?
The Hand-Me-Down Brain
Think about your core beliefs. The ones about money, love, success, and what it means to be a "good person." Did you consciously choose them from a vast marketplace of ideas? Did you sit down, weigh the pros and cons, and conclude, "Yes, I believe that my self-worth is directly tied to my productivity"?
Probably not.
Most of us inherit our belief systems like we inherit our grandma's questionable taste in curtains. They just show up one day, and we accept them as part of the furniture. We absorb the thought patterns of our parents, our teachers, and our social circles without even realizing it. There's no law, cosmic or otherwise, that says you have to keep thinking these thoughts. Yet, we trudge along the same old mental pathways, wondering why we keep ending up at the same destinations of anxiety, frustration, or disappointment.
Your brain is a creature of habit. It loves familiar roads. But just because a road is familiar doesn't mean it's leading you anywhere you actually want to go.
Your Beliefs Are Your Private Reality Show
Here's where it gets personal. Whatever you choose to believe becomes truefor you. Whatever your neighbor chooses to believe becomes truefor them. You can both look at the exact same event and have wildly different experiences.
Imagine two people get laid off from the same job.
Person A believes: "This is a catastrophe. I'm a failure. Finding another job in this economy is impossible. I'll never recover from this." For Person A, this belief becomes their reality. Their days are filled with dread. They scroll through job listings with a sense of hopelessness, their confirmation bias screaming, "See? Nothing good out there!" Their interviews are clouded with an aura of desperation. Their belief has created a self-fulfilling prophecy of struggle.
Person B believes: "This is a wakeup call. That job was soul-crushing anyway. This is my chance to finally pursue something I'm passionate about or learn a new skill." For Person B, this belief also becomes their reality. They feel a sense of liberation. They start networking with excitement, they sign up for an online course, they see every rejection not as a verdict on their worth, but as a redirection. Their belief has opened up a world of possibilities.
Same event. Radically different realities. The only thing that changed was the story they chose to believe about it.
How to Stop Believing Your Own Nonsense
Recognizing that you're the scriptwriter of your own life is both terrifying and incredibly empowering. It means you're responsible. But it also means you have the power to change the plot.
If you’re ready to stop living on autopilot and become the conscious director of your own mind, here’s where to start.
1. Conduct a Belief Audit
You can't change what you don't acknowledge. Grab a notebook and start questioning everything. What do you believe about money? About your capabilities? About your health? About your relationships?
Ask yourself: "Where did I get this belief? Did I choose it, or was it given to me?" And most importantly: "Is this belief serving me?" If a belief is making you anxious, limited, or unhappy, it's time to fire it. It doesn't matter if it's "true" for anyone else. If it's not creating a reality you want to live in, it has to go.
2. Shop for Better Thoughts
Once you've identified a belief that's holding you back (e.g., "I'm not creative"), don't just try to get rid of it. Nature abhors a vacuum, and so does your brain. You need to replace it.
Start "shopping" for a new belief. It doesn't have to be a monumental leap from "I'm not creative" to "I am the next Picasso." It can be something smaller and more believable, like, "I am capable of learning to be more creative," or "I'm open to exploring my creative side." Try this new thought on. See how it feels. Repeat it. Look for evidence, no matter how small, that this new belief might be true.
3. Treat Your Mind Like a Garden
Your mind will grow whatever you plant in it. If you plant seeds of doubt, fear, and self-criticism, you will get a garden full of weeds. If you consciously plant seeds of possibility, gratitude, and self-compassion, you will cultivate a different kind of inner landscape.
This isn't a one-and-done deal. It requires daily practice. It means actively choosing to focus on what you want to grow. It means noticing when a "weed" of a negative thought pops up and gently pulling it out, rather than letting it take over the whole garden.
4. Separate Facts from Stories
A fact is an objective, neutral event. "I lost my job." "My partner left." "I got a C on the exam." A story is the interpretation you layer on top of that fact. "I lost my job,which means I'm a worthless failure." "My partner left,which proves I'm unlovable." "I got a C on the exam,so I'm obviously too stupid for this."
Practice separating the two. Acknowledge the fact, but challenge the story. Is that the only story you could tell about this fact? What are some other possible interpretations? Choosing a more empowering story doesn't change the past, but it radically changes your future.
You Are the One Holding the Remote
Your life and experiences are a direct reflection of the thoughts you choose to entertain. This isn't about ignoring reality or pretending problems don't exist. It's about recognizing that you have a choice in how you interpret and respond to the events of your life.
You can continue to let your old, inherited beliefs run the show, replaying the same tired episodes of struggle and limitation. Or you can pick up the remote, change the channel, and start broadcasting a story that is more aligned with the life you actually want to live.
The glass is both half-full and half-empty. The choice of what you see is, and always has been, entirely up to you.