Beliefs → emotions → actions
Let’s look again at that example of the daily run.
If you believe there’s danger right behind you, you’ll feel scared and focus entirely on avoiding it.
If you believe there’s a big reward at the end, you’ll feel determined and push through your current pain — a small sacrifice for the eventual gain.
If you believe this is meant to be fun, you’ll feel playful and find creative new ways to entertain yourself with no pressure.
Beliefs create emotions. Emotions create actions. Choose a belief for the action it creates.
Picturing one future makes you quit. Picturing another future makes you jump up, full of inspiration and action. A single thought can exhaust you or motivate you.
One thought makes you act selfish. Another makes you act generous. One thought makes you do something stupid. Another makes you do something smart.
Which belief is right? Wrong question. Which belief leads to the action you need now?
But is this model "true," or is it itself a belief? Should we take it as true or just useful? What if I don't find it useful?
For example, I don't believe emotions come from belief. Rather they are results of feelings of uncertainty, of insecurity. Fear, for instance, is not the result of a belief that something is dangerous, but of the uncertainty that something COULD be dangerous. People aren't excited to see a movie because they believe the movie WILL be good, but because of the anticipation that it COULD be really good.
Indeed beliefs tend to come from our tendency to deal with uncertainty - to provide a commitment or resolution for thinking about uncertainty. Beliefs are conclusions, and generally come AFTER action (like running away or watching the movie). So the model is really emotions - actions - beliefs.