What is Your God?

I once talked with a doctor who told me about an unusual, yet obvious method they had for determining what was the most important thing in the world to their clients. Basically, he would just take a good long look at the things with which they surrounded themselves. What sort of posters did they keep on their walls? How did they dress? What sort of music did they listen to? What books were on their shelves?

I wouldn’t say it’s anything like a foolproof system, because a lot of those things could have multiple meanings—for example, do they listen to a particular kind of music because they like the artist? Because they identify with the lyrics? Or just because they like the beat? But there’s an undeniable truth embedded in this idea: time and habit tell the truth about a person’s priorities, far more than their words do.

Here's another story: in 1998, I released a muscle-based testing method called the Truth Technique, which could help people determine all sorts of things for their personal lives. Things like which supplements would be best for them, the best exercise routine, the best diet, and all sorts of other things. I was so excited to introduce the technique, and it was quite successful, but I found that some people had a problem. They started to become dependent on the method. They would obsessively test everything, and become anxious about doing things without testing, or going against their testing even in extremely minor ways.

That was never what I intended. The Truth Technique is supposed to be a useful tool for people to use, not a dogma to be followed for its own sake. But I think of it much like that doctor, with his posters and bookshelves. If you ask someone what they value most in life, they’ll usually say something like family, relationships, love… the sort of things we all know are at the heart of life. But the way we live our daily lives frequently tells a different story. Regardless of what we might say, whatever occupies the majority of our time and thoughts is our true priority. Our god, as you might call it.

More than anything else in your life, your “god” will determine your happiness, your wellbeing, and your success—which is only to be expected, isn’t it? We all know that hard work and a passionate drive can accomplish terrific things, because it has a way of bringing all of our resources to bear on one issue. So take care what issue you choose! A hard question to mull over this week: if you weren’t the one inside your head, if you could only watch your own actions from the outside… what would you see?

Have a blessed, wonderful day!

Dr. Alex Loyd