What's True and What's Not True?

I learned to believe certain things about myself by listening to my parents, by looking at glamorous women in magazines, by looking up to my sister, by idolizing my teachers, in awe of other people and different surroundings.  I based my self-worth on how other people treated me, good or bad.  Because I was always looking for someone else to love me, and because I was always looking at the outside world, I started believing I wasn't good enough, or I wasn't pretty enough, or that other people were luckier than me.  Those were the things I believed in.  I thought they were the truth.  But now I ask myself:  is it true?  Is it true that I'm not good enough?  I set up such high standards for myself, wanting to do everything the right way, not allowing my own ideas to flow, trying to fit in with other people's standards.  Instead I let other people rule me.  Is it true that other people are luckier?  It seems that way on the outside.  But who knows how it is on the inside.  How do you look at life in general? And how you view other people's lives?  Make a list.  For example, "she's beautiful, so she must be lucky in love."  Or "he's rich so he's happier than me."  Or "life is difficult, always."   Then ask yourself if the belief is true.  I learned the art of questioning my thinking from The Work of Byron Katie.  She uses four basic questions when doing inquiry about a belief:
1.  Is it true?
2.  Is it absolutely true?
3.  How do you react when you believe the thought/belief?
4.  Who would you be without the thought/belief?
When you're done with this exercise, separate what's true from what's not true, after you have re-evaluated.  Then look at the picture that emerges.  This will help allow your ideas to flow which will bring you to another dimension.  To get better acquainted with this type of inquiry, go to thework.com.