Over the weekend I went to a men's retreat with my church where I learned some eye-opening information that I would like to share.
I've always related my actions back to my thoughts and/or emotions which seems logical enough. However, it isn't deep enough! I stopped short of what ultimately influences my actions. That is my beliefs. This is true whether they are spiritual or not.
Take this model (Beliefs -> Thoughts -> Emotions -> Actions) and reverse the order to see how your belief brings about a certain action.
For example, my action is PMOing. I do this because I feel stressed (emotion). My thought behind the emotion is that my work is meaningless, stressful, and not fun. In most cases this seems like enough information to justify my action BUT take it one step further. My thought comes from my belief in that what I do defines me! And this is a lie!
What I do and where I am at or where I am going does not define me as a man or human, but we put so much emphasis on that in our world. How often is the question "What do you do?" or "What are you majoring in?" asked in a given conversation with someone you just met or don't know? A lot, in case you don't know. Just pay attention next time and you'll hear it soon enough.
It's never about who you are or who you are becoming. Who you are becoming is far more important than simply just what you are doing at the given time. Today I work in the medical field, tomorrow I quit and work in the oil industry. Jobs change, roles change, majors change but you are who you are and that's only changing for better or for worse, growing or decaying based on what we believe.
The flip side of this equation is to start over with the right beliefs:
Belief->Who I am in Christ defines me, Col. 2:8, 2 Cor. 3:5, Ephesians 2:1-10, (pair this step with scripture to continue to renew your mind about the truth)->Thought->Work has a purpose but not to ultimately fulfill or define me->Emotion (a Fruit of the Spirit)->I'm at peace with what I do, I have patience and contentment with where I am at->Action->I work hard unto the Lord without stress and don't need to release something that doesn't exist (i.e. stress) by PMOing.
Try it for yourself with any action, not just PMOing, though that would be a good one to start with. See if you can trace it back to a belief that is a lie. Then reverse the order with a belief of truth.
Hope this helps!