You Become What You Behold

You become what you behold. This is a basic truth of psychology. It is also a principle in most religions. Most of us learn it from sports or from human achievement studies. You become what you behold. What you put before your eyes shapes a good part of what you become.

If a man plasters his walls and digital devices with naked women and porn, he’s making a decision to program his inner gyroscope. He’s telling his soul he wants a life aligned with the erotic and the sexual. I’m all for sex, believe me. Love it. I don’t want to be driven by the insatiable hungers that a porn-filled life creates.

If a woman fills her days with angry, bitter, hate-infused political media, then she will become an angry, bitter, hate-infused woman. We become what we behold. We replicate what we digest.

I was with the Washington Redskins this past weekend, speaking at their chapel service, and then I hung around afterward to eat and visit with friends. It was the night before a game. After the meal, squad meetings, and some other training matters, the players gathered in a room, and the head coach showed highlight films—of the Redskins! In other words, prior to the big game the coach wanted some of the final images embedded in the minds of his players to be their own standout moments and successes. Why? We become what we behold.

I believe in this completely. I don’t think it’s magic or some weird occult practice. I think it is the way God made us. There is a theater of the mind. Our lives are determined to a great degree by what’s playing there. Most folks don’t know they can take control of what’s showing in that theater.

I keep meaningful images before my eyes. There are busts of Homer and King David in my office. There’s a painting of soldiers in battle risking fire to pick up a wounded comrade. A photo and signature of Churchill is on one wall; a photo of my father taking command of troops is on another. A map of the city where the Pilgrims awaited their destiny in Holland sits over my desk. I have dozens of other images on my digital devices—and even in my bathroom! History inspires me and keeps themes of nobility and righteousness before my eyes. I want it to shape me.

What about you? What’s before your eyes? Asked another way, what are you becoming given what you’ve chosen to set your eyes on each day? Change the view. Change the programming of that theater in your mind. It’s not the whole battle, but it is a strategic part of the battle that most of us haven’t yet decided to win. Oh, and don’t forget to play Chariots of Fire, Seabiscuit, Rudy, Hoosiers, and The King’s Speech in that theater.

We become what we behold. More to come on this and other such tools.

That’s it. Have a good weekend. And keep going Notre Dame!