To wrap up this series of blogs on the domino effect, let me use an example to make this more practical. If I grew up with my father and mother smoking, I would eventually develop a value for smoking (because what young child doesn’t want to be like their moms and dads). Eventually, if that value isn’t changed by someone or something else, I will develop the belief that I should try smoking too. This belief will starkly influence my behavior to then buy cigarettes and experiment with smoking. Even if I don’t like them at first (which who does), my embedded value system will keep reinforcing my beliefs which will then effect my behavior. Eventually, my behaviors lead me down a path of smoking more and more consistently, thus leading me down a certain path or direction. Then, after years and decades, if nothing changes my value for smoking, I will most likely develop very bad health and be at a severe risk for cancer or lung disease (i.e. my destiny).
These pictures are a visual representation of this progression. I hope these last several blogs have demonstrated the power our values hold and how these values influence our beliefs, our behaviors, our direction in life and ultimately our destinies.
