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  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 7 
 

 

Utilizing Beliefs, Values and Habits as Tools for 

Determining Personal Outcomes 

 

 

By 

Duve Nakolisa 

 

 

Abstract 

This paper identifies beliefs, values, and habits as the critical forces that dictate the 

outcome of an individual’s endeavours and their capacity to realize set goals. The 

paper presents and illustrates the view that the fundamental causes of success and 

failure lie in the beliefs, values and habits of the individual. It introduces new concepts 

and analytical tools invented not only to clarify the expository thrusts of the paper but 

to empower the individual to evaluate the direction of their beliefs, values and habits. 

Some of these new tools include the belief-values-habit (BVH) formulations and 

tables devised to enhance the individual’s ability to analyze and understand their own 

and other people’s behaviour and motives. The paper’s theoretical and practical 

insights are framed within the author’s BVH model and are presented as processes by 

which an individual can utilize beliefs, values and habits to determine the outcome of 

their undertaking.  

Keyword: belief, values, habit, BVH model, BVH tables, BVH codes, BVH sets, 

JBUT chart, success, personal outcomes 

 

 

 

very individual’s beliefs, values and habits constitute the foundation of 

their success or failure in personal, occupational and social 

endeavours. Upon the fundamental tripod of beliefs, values and habits 

may be placed other factors which can boost or hinder an individual’s success. 

Some of these are vision, desire, focus, persistence, hard work, foresight, 

knowledge, creativity, and finance. But then, even these are products of an 

E 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 1, No. 1, November-December 2022 

 
 

  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 8 
 

individual’s beliefs, values and habits. The puzzle is that there are people who 

fail to achieve appreciable success in spite of exhibiting all or most of the 

above qualities of successful people; there are, on the other hand, those who 

appear not to have some of these attributes but, regardless of that, end up 

attaining great success in their chosen careers. What could be the explanation 

for this incongruity or apparent disharmony between an individual’s apparent 

success attributes and the outcome of his or her endeavours? Concerning this, 

many perspectives and explanations abound. However, it is the position of this 

paper that there is an underlying relationship between an individual’s beliefs, 

values and habits and that person’s capacity to realize set goals. Some vital 

aspects of this relationship are explored in this paper. 

 

Beliefs, Values and Habits as Critical Outcome Fundamentals 

We need to define the terms “belief”, “values” and “habit” as a guide to our 

understanding of their fundamental roles in determining the outcome of an 

individual’s occupational/vocational endeavour or their capacity to realize set 

goals. Generally, a belief is anything an individual holds to be true and upon 

which they place some confidence. A belief is what someone recognizes, 

approves and accepts to be true with or without empirical evidence. Our beliefs 

differ because our personalities, upbringing, education, social exposure, 

culture, experience, and responses to all of these and other factors, differ. That 

is why someone may have the belief that they would succeed in achieving what 

they set out to do while another firmly believes that they would fail to realize 

their goal no matter how hard they try. To belief is to unleash a value chain, for 

it inevitably links one to values that make what one believes and its attainment 

possible or impossible. The above is a wide-ranging definition of belief; we 

shall adopt a functional or operative definition of the term, suitable for its 

measurable application, later in this paper. 

 

What are values? Values are the important ideas about key aspects of life an 

individual has formed over time, and usually from the standpoint of his or her 

beliefs. According to Schwartz (1992), values are “desirable states, objects, 

goals, or behaviours, transcending specific situations and applied as normative 

standards to judge and to choose among alternative modes of behaviour”. 

Elaborating on this point, Kaushal and Janjhua (2011) explain that 
 

values refer to the way in which people evaluate activities or outcomes 

and guide to a person’s intentions and actions… Values signify desired 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 1, No. 1, November-December 2022 

 
 

  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 9 
 

goals scaled according to importance, which guide a person’s life, 

behaviour that is directed towards goals, and criteria for choosing those 

goals. 
 

Values are the standards by which an individual or a group of persons is guided 

to choose what to attain in life and by which they go through the process of 

attaining their goals. Some people confuse beliefs with values but they are two 

distinct terms. Pediaa (2016) distinguishes them as follows: 

 

Although values and beliefs are interrelated since they collectively affect 

our attitudes, perceptions, personality, character and behaviour, there is a 

distinctive difference between them. The main difference between values 

and beliefs is that values are principles, ideals or standards of behaviour 

while beliefs are convictions that we generally accept to be true. It is 

these ingrained beliefs that influence our values, attitudes, and behaviour.  

 

Habits are the routine value-driven things an individual or a group of persons 

does to become who or what they are or to attain goals they set for themselves. 

Habits are the external expression of the internal beliefs and values of an 

individual or group of persons. Habits are someone’s regular behaviour; they 

are the acts they exhibit or undertake as they are propelled by their inward 

beliefs and values. There are good and bad habits. Good habits are the 

productive acts people regularly engage in that bring them good results. Bad 

habits are the unproductive acts they frequently engage in that bring them bad 

results. Generally, whether a habit is deemed good or bad is dependent upon 

what one believes and the values one holds dear. In visionary terms, a habit is 

considered good if it enhances one’s vision or goal and considered bad if it 

hinders it. 

 

An individual’s beliefs, values and habits can lead them to realize or fall short 

of realizing their set goals – depending on the type or nature of those beliefs, 

values and habits. So, while one belief-values-habit set can lead one person to 

success, another belief-values-habit set can lead another to failure. We will 

illustrate in a subsequent segment of this paper the critical need for people to 

choose or reinforce those beliefs, values and habits that steer them towards 

success rather than towards failure. We will also illustrate how beliefs, values 

and habits can be broadly classified and their impact practically determined as 

part of this papers purpose of exemplifying in what way or manner beliefs, 

values and habits can be utilized as tools for engineering success or the 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 1, No. 1, November-December 2022 

 
 

  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 10 
 

realization of set goals.  

 

Relationship between Workers’ Values and Workplace Performance 

It has been noted that there is a relationship between workers’ beliefs and 

values and how well they do (the habits they exhibit) in the work place. Most 

jobs make practical demands on workers – they demand their skill, their 

capacity to do something, to communicate and to deliver results. Kaushal and 

Janjhua (2011) are of the view that there is a relationship between personal 

values and performance in the workplace:   

 

Most of the early attempts in studying values have observed that values 

play a very important role in determining individual behaviour, decision 

making and managerial success… Moreover the similarity in value 

orientations…plays an important role in eliminating value conflicts and 

have significant implications for the organizations which need to 

integrate for high performance work systems in the organisations… The 

research on work values also conceived that work values are derived from 

people’s basic value systems that help them navigate through the multiple 

spheres of their lives…  

 

Dorkenoo et al (2015) also share the view that the work ethic or values of a 

worker has a direct bearing on their productivity since the worker’s attitude and 

performance of assigned tasks reflect their ingrained principles: 

 

Values can strongly influence employee conduct in the workplace. If an 

employee values honesty, hard work, and discipline, for example, he will 

likely make an effort to exhibit those traits in the workplace. This person 

may therefore be a more efficient employee and a more positive role 

model to others than an employee with opposite values. Values determine 

what individuals find important in their daily life and help to shape their 

behaviour in each situation they encounter. Since values often strongly  

influence both attitude and behaviour, they serve as a kind of personal 

compass for employee conduct in the workplace. Values help determine 

whether an employee is passionate about work and the workplace…. 

 

Beliefs, values, habits: these three are equally important. To believe the right 

things without valuing the right things can give one the conviction to go in the 

right direction but deny them the wisdom to make the right choices. To have 

the right values without cultivating the right habits can enable one to make the 

right choices but deprive them the capacity to take the right steps. Beliefs, 



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  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 11 
 

values, and habits are inter-connected and this connection can be utilized by 

every individual to transform, intensify and speed up their capacity to become 

successful in whatever they choose to do. There is enormous power in the 

cumulative effect of these three forces, if one knows how to apply them 

methodically to break those barriers blocking them from realizing their goal or 

attaining self-fulfillment.  

 

Classifying Beliefs, Values and Habits    

Beliefs, values and habits can be broadly grouped into two classes: pro-success 

or positive beliefs, values and habits and anti-success or negative beliefs, 

values and habits. Positive and negative categorization is, incidentally, among 

some of the vital dualisms of life – in some ways as basic as good and evil, life 

and death, up and down, light and darkness. When beliefs, values and habits 

are positive, they vivify and instigate critical success factors such as purpose, 

vision, goal, passion, skill, diligence and integrity. When negative, they propel 

their failure-inclined captives towards laxity, purposelessness, aimlessness, 

apathy, laziness, shortsightedness, incompetence, feebleness, and dishonesty. It 

is the nature of the individual’s beliefs, values and habits that dictates the 

course of his or her life. It is what determines how people invest time, talent 

and other resources; how much they earn, retain and invest; and what 

determines the direction, quality and level of their overall personal and 

business development.  

 

More than A Matter of “Good” or “Bad” 

The average person can tell apart two extremely opposite beliefs, values or 

habits. On a moral scale, the bad attribute or act, because of its crudity, would 

weigh down the scale, lifting up the good attribute or act. Broadly speaking, 

and in spite of differences in culture or nurture, there is a natural capacity in 

every human being to distinguish what is obviously right from what is 

obviously wrong. So, the average individual can draw a table such as this 

(Table 1) without putting any data in the wrong column: 

 

Table 1 

 Good Bad 
 

Beliefs Everyone’s life is valuable. 

 

Husbands have the right to 

kill their wives. 
 

Values Honesty and Diligence 
 

Dishonesty and Laziness 



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  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 12 
 

Habits Daily punctuality at work 
 

Daily lateness at work 
 

 

It should be noted, however, that in terms of their capacity to enhance or hinder 

success, all beliefs, values and habits do not weigh the same but the differences 

here are not necessarily distinguished by “good” or “bad” tags. In the terrain of 

success considerations, a seemingly “good” attribute, such as patience, can be 

rated low if, for instance, it has the tendency to detain a man on the same spot 

and make him to be doing the same thing and producing the same negative 

result year in, year out. And what about outspokenness? On its own, this is 

good, especially for an activist who needs it to articulate and communicate his 

or her cause. But this “good” habit will be “bad” if routinely exhibited by 

someone whose job demands or requires tact and sensitivity in addressing 

issues. This is why, for purposes of success evaluation, it is important to avoid 

the term “good” or “bad” in classifying beliefs, values and habits. Instead, they 

should be evaluated in terms of the positive (+) or negative (–) contribution 

they make towards the realization of a given vision or goal.  

 

Evaluating Beliefs as Drivers of Values and Habits 

Beliefs, in terms of the behaviours they spawn, can be broadly classified and 

labelled according to their tendency to enhance or hinder the capacity of those 

who believe them to accomplish their set goal. Hence, for the purpose of this 

discussion, we shall classify beliefs or statements of belief into two types: pro-

success and anti-success beliefs. Pro-success beliefs or statements of belief are 

phrased in such a way that they express faith in the capacity or likelihood of 

those who believe or utter them to achieve success or cause a positive change 

in their lives. Anti-success beliefs or statements of belief do the opposite; they 

engender doubt, fear, complacency and failure.  

 

Table 2, using statements people commonly say or believe, exemplifies these 

two kinds of beliefs. The examples cited in this table are far from being 

exhaustive. Indeed, one could cite dozens of such everyday utterances if we 

had ample space for that. The ones we have listed here are meant to serve as a 

guide. The table should also make everyone more sensitive to the underlying 

meanings of regular statements people make. It should be realized that by those 

statements people, consciously or unconsciously, call up spiritual and physical 

forces that enhance the fulfillment of the tenor of their utterances, be it positive 

or negative. People should check themselves everyday to ensure that what they 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 1, No. 1, November-December 2022 

 
 

  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 13 
 

say is not an unconscious contradiction of what they want. 

 

 

 

Table 2: Pro-Success and Anti-Success Statements of Belief 

 

 Pro-Success Beliefs  Anti-Success Beliefs 

 

1 I am going to succeed in 

life. 

 

 Life is a matter of fate. 

2 If someone can do it, I can 

do it. 

 

 All fingers are not equal. 

3 If I can think it, I can do it. 

 

 If wishes were horses 

beggars will ride them. 

4 A journey of a thousand 

miles begins with one step. 

 

 Never begin what you 

cannot finish. 

5 Nothing ventured, nothing 

gained. 

 

 A bird in hand is worth two 

in the bush. 

6 I can do more and achieve 

more. 

 

 Be contented with what you 

have. 

7 It is never too late to make 

a U-turn. 

 

 You shouldn’t learn to be 

left-handed at an old age. 

8 Success can be achieved in 

every environment. 

 

 If I were living abroad I 

would have made it. 

9 I am the architect of my 

own fortune. 

 

 I have no one to help me. 

10 I will keep trying until I 

win. 

 

 I am a failure. 

11 My future is in my hands. 

 

 No one knows tomorrow. 

12 My life is a reflection of 

my daily choices. 

 

 Life is full of ups and 

downs. 

 

One may ask, why is one set of the above statements tagged “pro-success” 

while the other set is tagged “anti-success”? The difference is in the inclination 

of the speaker and believer of each statement to act according to the leaning of 

his or her statement. Speakers of the pro-success statements are usually more 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 1, No. 1, November-December 2022 

 
 

  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 14 
 

inclined towards taking steps to get positive outcomes than speakers of the 

anti-success statements who typically tilt towards resignation, apathy, and 

procrastination. This indicates that speakers of the pro-success statements are 

more likely to expect or take steps to get positive results than speakers of the 

anti-success statements. The latter are usually negative-minded and liable to 

doing little or nothing to change their situation. 

 

Pro-Success and Anti-Success Beliefs as True Beliefs 

Given the aforesaid fundamental difference between pro-success and anti-

success statements of belief, can we then say that pro-success statements are 

true beliefs while anti-success statements are false beliefs? We need to derive 

or adopt a functional definition of belief before we would be able to answer 

this question. From a pragmatic point of view, a belief is defined by the 

predisposition of the one who believes to act according to what he or she 

believes. That belief is false if the believer acts or is disposed to act contrary to 

what he or she supposedly believes. A true statement of belief is that which 

inspires the one who believes it to act in accordance with its dictates. So, a 

statement is said to be a true belief if the one who utters or believes it is 

inclined to do or act in accordance with what it says; a statement is amounts to 

a false belief if the one who utters or purports to believe it is disinclined to do 

or act in accordance with what that statement says. In other words, a belief – in 

terms of what it means to an individual – is not in and of itself true or false but 

is either true or false strictly on the basis of what the one who claims to believe 

it is inclined or disinclined to do. It is the doing part that tells us whether 

someone truly believes something or not. Every individual tends to act in line 

with what they believe; so, we can gain a good insight into what someone 

believes by how they act.  

 

Alexander Bain was probably the first modern philosopher to recognize this 

connection between belief and action, a significant nexus as far as our 

discussion of the subject of belief, in this book, is concerned. Bain, in 1859, 

defined belief as “that upon which a man is prepared to act”. Max Fisch in 

Engel (2019) logically expressed it thus: 

 

“X believes p” means “X is prepared to act on p” 

 

Bain clarifies the relationship between belief and action thus: 

 



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  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 15 
 

It will be readily admitted that the state of mind called belief is, in many 

cases, a concomittant of our activity. But I mean to go farther than this, 

and to affirm that belief has no meaning except in reference to our 

actions; the essence, or import of it is such as to place it under the region 

of the will. 

 

Bain in Misak (2016) went further to note the role of feeling as a binding force 

between belief and action: “The difference between mere conceiving or 

imagining, with or without strong feeling, and belief, is acting, or being 

prepared to act, when the occasion arises.” 

 

In line with this functional definition of belief, can we say, referring to the 

question earlier posed, that the pro-success statements listed in Table 2.1 are 

true beliefs while the anti-success statements are false beliefs? Although the 

speakers of the pro-success statements are more likely to get positive results 

than the speakers of the anti-success statements, both categories of speakers are 

prepared or inclined to act in accordance with their utterances. So, both sets of 

statements are true beliefs: the pro-success believers are prepared or inclined to 

act positively; the anti-success believers are prepared or inclined to act 

negatively. In as much as the speakers of these two sets of statements have the 

disposition to act in accordance with the tenor of their statements, their 

utterances equally constitute true belief. The major difference is that one set of 

true beliefs is pro-success while the other set of true beliefs is anti-success. But 

pro-success beliefs and anti-success beliefs, being true beliefs, have the 

potential to influence the mind to make each believer act in accordance with 

what they believe. 

 

BVH Evaluation and Classification 

What we can call Belief-Values-Habit Evaluation, or simply BVH Evaluation, 

is a method devised by this author for assessing how success-oriented one’s 

beliefs, values and habits are. It is a result-oriented technique which, when 

mastered, can be readily applied.  

 

Early in life, most people were influenced to acquire certain beliefs, values and 

habits they now consider counter-productive. Such negative beliefs, values and 

habits should be done away with. It is the responsibility of the goal-setter or 

success-seeker to enforce necessary mental and behavioural changes to 

enhance the smooth realization of set goals. The BVH Evaluation is a soul-



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  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 16 
 

searching assessment of beliefs, values and habits based on their actual, 

potential or perceived relevance or irrelevance to the realization of one’s vision 

or goal. A belief or set of beliefs, values or habits is pro-success if it enhances 

or moves your vision or goal forward; it is anti-success if it hinders your goal 

or turns you partially or completely away from it.        

 

If someone’s belief, values or habit is evaluated as being pro-success, it is 

classified and noted as positive (+) belief, values or habit; if evaluated as being 

anti-success, it is classified and noted as a negative (–) belief, values or habit. 

This categorical assessment makes no room for neutral (0) or unsigned beliefs, 

values and habits. (See Table 3) 

 

Table 3: BVH Evaluation and Classification 
 

 Beliefs Values Habits 

Goal-

Oriented 

Non-

Goal 

Oriented 

Goal- 

Oriented 

Non-Goal  

Oriented 

Goal- 

Oriented 

Non-Goal  

Oriented 

 

Evalua-

tion 

pro- 

success 

anti- 

success 

pro- 

success 

anti- 

success 

pro- 

success 

anti- 

success 

 

Classifi- 

cation 

positive negative positive negative positive negative 

 

Sign + – + – + – 

 

 

The goal of the BVH Evaluation is to help every individual identify and 

categorize every issue of immediate or remote implication for their success 

journey. This evaluation will help them identify the success or failure 

orientation of their beliefs, values and habits through sorting them into two 

distinct categories: those which would enhance success vs. those which would 

hinder success. Many people should be able to do this, although how well it is 

done would significantly vary from person to person. 

 

Outcomes are Not Accidental Results 

To restate our position, everyone’s ability or lack thereof to realize set goals 

springs primarily from the tenor of their beliefs and values and the actions they 

propel him to take. These are what determine the outcome the individual 

obtains from any endeavour to which they channel their time, energy and 

money. Personal outcomes are usually reflections of what the individual 

inputted into their life in the areas of beliefs, values and habits. Outcomes are 



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  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 17 
 

not accidental results. They are chains of interconnected forces that are difficult 

to deal with except one is conscious of and ready to make necessary 

adjustments regarding the leanings of their beliefs, values and habits. 

 

Figure 1: Pairs of Opposite Values and Outcomes 

 

Every individual’s success or goal-chasing journey is in stages and there are 

not one but many outcomes. Every outcome expected at the end of every stage 

of the journey should be clearly and recognizably identified. This is the only 

way one can know whether they are making progress or not and whether one 

should reassess their beliefs, values and habits. Such reassessments should be 

used to make one better at attaining a set goal, not better at derailing it. A set 

goal or vision is the nucleus around which every idea or experience should 

revolve.  

 

Success is all about outcomes and outcomes are rarely accidental results. 

Outcomes spring from the soil of the individual’s positive/negative beliefs, 

germinate as their positive/negative values, branch out through their 

positive/negative habits to become their positive/negative results. See Figure 1 

for an illustration of this vital relationship with particular emphasis on the 

connection between values and outcomes. 

 

In Figure 1, two sets of beliefs – positive and negative – are involved. 

Although these beliefs are not stated, you can use the ones listed in Table 2 as 

examples of positive and negative beliefs. In Fig. 1, a set of positive beliefs 

produced a set of positive values, namely, integrity, persistence, diligence, 

skill, passion, vision, and purpose. This set of positive values produced 



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  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 18 
 

desirable outcomes, such as success, wealth, self-fulfillment, social assets, 

increased options, and increased influence. The negative beliefs gave rise to the 

following negative values: dishonesty, feebleness, laziness, incompetence, 

apathy, shortsightedness and aimlessness. These values, as illustrated, led to 

unpleasant outcomes: failure, lack, self-pity, social liability, decreased lifestyle 

options, and decreased influence. All of these are the opposite of the positive 

outcomes listed above. No right-thinking person would like these negative 

outcomes but, like them or not, they inevitably result when one’s beliefs, 

values and habits are continually anti-success. It seems reasonable to state that 

life usually delivers what we somehow allowed our beliefs, values, and habits 

to attract. 

 

BVH Interactions 

In this section of the paper, we will explore aspects of beliefs, values and habits 

in order to gain greater insight into their interactions and their involvement in 

shaping human behaviour. So far, we have seen the interaction between these 

three forces as a rather one-way chain, with beliefs leading to values, and 

values leading to habits, and habits leading to success or failure. While this 

sequential framework is not all there is to beliefs, values and habits, it rightly 

highlights the causative order of their interactions in ideal situations. However, 

when manifesting in the life of the individual, beliefs, values and habits can act 

in diverse ways.  

 

Personal-growth Gear 

Let us use the concept of what this paper calls personal-growth gear to describe 

the manner in which an individual’s beliefs, values and habits work together to 

enhance their personal growth and development. An individual’s personal-

growth gear refers to the way their beliefs, values and habits move each other 

to generate capacity, efficiency, and productivity or incapacity, inefficiency, 

and non-productivity. Ineffective deployment of the personal-growth gear 

reduces the level of output, competence, and income an individual can produce. 

Incompetent engagement of the personal-growth gear is one of the fundamental 

reasons some individuals have failed repeatedly at whatever they tried to do. 

How effectively the personal-growth gear is put to use determines an 

individual’s success power. Each time someone thinks, each time they take 

action, they are engaging their beliefs-values-habits gear, projecting it to move 

in a certain direction and at a certain speed. (Note that by habits we include 

habits of gathering, sifting and analyzing information as well as habits of 



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  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 19 
 

acting on the information.) 

 

 

 

Figure 2: Personal-growth gear 

 
 

Every act is not a linear expression that necessarily springs from beliefs to 

values and, then, to habits. While, in formative terms, beliefs, values and habits 

unfold in a sequential way, they do not necessarily manifest that way; many 

times, they act simultaneously, like the parts a gear, to change the pace or 

direction of someone’s beliefs, values or habits. (See Figure 2) 

 

What this means is that the success-seeker must continually be sensitive to the 

inter-relationship between these three critical forces (beliefs, values and habits) 

in order to ensure that none of them is out of alignment with set goals, since 

they produce best results when they are in alignment with each other. To 

believe one thing and do another is a clear indication that one’s personal-

growth gear is not properly aligned. To return to the authentic path of growth 

and development, a realignment of BVH forces in a manner that powers one 

towards the desired direction would be necessary. 

 

When someone’s beliefs, values and habits are in agreement with each other, 

they can all be efficiently expressed in a single act through their gear-like 

interaction. The personal-growth gear, in enabling us to see in one instance of 

behaviour an individual’s essence, plays a synthetic and generative role. For 

example, someone casting his vote during an election is displaying belief in 

Beliefs

Values

Habits



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  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 20 
 

democracy while at the same time expressing an aspect of his democratic 

values and demonstrating a habitual inclination to participate in choosing his 

leaders.  

 

 

BVH Unit 

A BVH unit is made up of three components – belief(s), values and habit(s) – 

that form an identifiable meaning in a sequential or non-sequential manner. A 

meaning is sequentially obtained from a BVH unit when it is derived through a 

logical sequence of belief(s), values and habit(s). A BVH unit that forms a 

sequential meaning is called a BVH set. A meaning is non-sequentially 

obtained from a BVH unit when it does not emanate from a logical sequence of 

belief(s), values and habit(s). A BVH unit that forms a non-sequential meaning 

is called a BVH mix. The term “BVH mix”, as used in this paper, takes a 

singular or plural verb, depending on whether it is referring to a single BVH 

mix or two or more BVH mix.  

 

A BVH unit (be it a BVH set or a BVH mix) is susceptible to personal, social 

and environmental influences, among other factors capable of causing shifts in 

personal beliefs, values and habits over a short or long period of time. Those 

who withstand unsavoury influences to maintain behavioural stability achieved 

the feat by largely conducting their lives in line with the dictates of veritable 

BVH sets.  

 

Classification of BVH Units 

As we earlier stated, there are positive (pro-success) beliefs, values and habits 

and negative (anti-success) beliefs, values and habits. Units of beliefs, values 

and habits (BVH units) are also classified. There are three types of BVH units: 

o Positive BVH units 

o Negative BVH units 

o Positive and Negative BVH units. 

The first two types apply to BVH sets while the last applies to BVH mix. 

 

BVH units are usually distinguished in terms of the following features: 

 their Type 

 their Tenor, and 

 their Sequence. 



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  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 21 
 

By type, we refer to the three BVH types (positive BVH units, negative BVH 

units, and positive and negative BVH units) listed above. The term, “tenor” is 

the general meaning or perspective a BVH unit is conveying or tends to be 

conveying. It is a feature of all BVH units. “Sequence” refers to the way the 

tenor or meaning of a BVH unit is derived: does it flow logically and 

conformably from beliefs, through values to habits or is it derived as a result of 

a contradiction in one or more BVH components? 

 

BVH Set 

A BVH set is a BVH unit whose meaning is derived through a logical sequence 

of belief(s), values and habit(s) that are in line with each other. What this 

means is that it is the conformability of the components of a BVH unit that 

determines whether it is a BVH set or a BVH mix. Because the components of 

a BVH set correspond to each other, the elements in the components being 

mutually consistent, they lead to a predictable pattern of behaviour. The 

contradictory components of a BVH mix, on the other hand, lead to 

unpredictable pattern of behaviour. 

 

A BVH set is either positive or negative in type. To determine what type a 

BVH set is, we ask the question: Are the beliefs, values and habits of this BVH 

set positive (pro-success) or negative (anti-success)?  

 

It is vital to note that the word, “success”, as used in the above brackets, is 

defined as the realization of a worthy goal or desire. If the goal of a given BVH 

set is evil, socially or morally harmful, the BVH set is deemed to be negative in 

spite of the “success” of its outcome. In this matter, the end does not justify the 

means. In any authentic success story, the value or glory of the outcome should 

be gauged by the integrity of the process.  

 

One of the defining features of a BVH set is that its belief(s), values and 

habit(s) point toward the same meaning or idea, thereby laying the foundation 

for its logical sequence. Thus, in a BVH set, the beliefs are in agreement with 

the values which, in turn, lead to agreeable habits that externalize the tenor of 

the set. (See Fig. 3) 

 

 

 

 



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Figure 3: Logical sequence of BVH Set 
 

 
 

 

BVH Table 

A BVH table is a columnar presentation of BVH units that displays in the 

respective columns the belief(s), values and habit(s) of each row (or BVH unit) 

of the table. When a row of a BVH table displays belief(s), values, and habit(s) 

that agreeably link to each other, that row is called a BVH set. A row whose 

belief(s), values, and habit(s) are not altogether consistent is called a BVH mix.  

 

The BVH table below contains three BVH sets. Notice that each set’s beliefs, 

values and habits point toward the same meaning. Since conformable values 

and habits can correspond to conformable beliefs in various ways, BVH tables, 

such as the one below, may not contain exhaustive list of sets of possible 

beliefs, values and habits. To illustrate the topic, only three BVH sets are 

listed.  

 

Table 4: BVH Table 

 Beliefs 
 

Values Habits 

1 Slow and steady wins 

the race. 

 

patience, 

consistency, 

orderly progress 
 

follows due process, 

stays in the same job 

for long, secures 

success in due course 
 

2 Time waits for no 

one. 

 

time-consciousness, 

decisiveness, speed, 

smartness 

on the lookout for 

new opportunities, 

easily tries new 

things, engages in 

side ventures that 

bring in extra income 
 

3 It’s all fair and OK as 

long as you don’t get 

cleverness, theft, 

bribery, forgery, 

runs a prostitution 

and armed robbery 



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caught. impatience, hustle 
 

ring, engages in 

cross-border 

trafficking of girls 
 

 

The above BVH sets are logically sequenced.  Logical sequence is unique to 

BVH sets and refers to the order in which BVH beliefs generate conformable 

values which, in turn, give rise to conformable habits. We see this principle at 

work in the above BVH table where the values and habits of each BVH set 

flow from and build upon the conformable elements of the set’s belief 

component. 

 

 

BVH Codes 

BVH codes are ways of using letters and numbers to make convenient, 

simplified and orderly references to the BVH sets and BVH mix in a given 

table. BVH codes are derived from BVH tables for the purpose of uniquely 

identifying and analyzing BVH sets and BVH mix.  

 

Table 4 (above) is made up of three BVH sets which can be identified, as 

follows, in terms of their positions as rows of that table: 
 

1st BVH Set (Table 4, row 1) 

2nd BVH Set (Table 4, row 2) 

3rd BVH Set (Table 4, row 3) 
 

Instead of referring to these BVH sets using the above lengthy forms, BVH 

codes can be used to sort and systematize such references as follows: 

Detailed Reference BVH Code 
 

1st BVH Set (Table 4, row 1) 
 

BVH-S1 
 

2nd BVH Set (Table 4, row 2) BVH-S2 
 

3rd BVH Set (Table 4, row 3) 
 

BVH-S3 
 

 

Note that the letter “S”, attached to the number identifying the row where the 

BVH set is located in the table, stands for “set”; it is used to distinguish a 

BVH-Set code from a BVH-Mix code. BVH codes can function as primary 

keys in BVH-Set and BVH-Mix tables as well as in database records.    

 

 



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BVH-Set Tables 

A BVH-Set table provides quick tabular insight into the type, tenor and 

sequence of coded BVH sets. It is different from a BVH table whose columns 

merely indicate the beliefs, values and habits of a BVH unit (be that unit a 

BVH set or mix).  

      

BVH-Set table and BVH-Mix table have four columns each, namely, BVH 

Code, BVH Type (Type), BVH Tenor (Tenor) and BVH Sequence (Sequence). 

A right arrow (→) is used to show the logical sequence of a BVH-Set. 

 

The BVH-Set table below (Table 5) is drawn using BVH data provided in 

Table 4 above and the BVH codes derived from it.  

 

Table 5: BVH-Set Table 

BVH 

Code 
 

Type 
 

Tenor Sequence 

BVH-S1 + 

 

patience, 

consistency, 

orderly progress 
 

continuity→consistency→success 

 

BVH-S2 + time-

consciousness, 

decisiveness, 

speed, 

smartness 
 

new things→new 

opportunities→quick benefits 

 

 

BVH-S3 – cleverness, 

theft, bribery, 

forgery, 

impatience, 

hustle 
 

crime→cleverly committed→OK 

 

 

 

Note that BVH-Set table and BVH-Mix tables are not meant to serve as 

alternatives to BVH tables without which none of their columns will make 

referential sense. BVH codes symbolize BVH sets while BVH-Set and BVH-

Mix tables provide useful information that makes more meaningful BVH 

tables.  

 

 

BVH Mix 

A BVH mix is a unit of beliefs, values, and habits that are not sequentially 

linked. A BVH mix, unlike a BVH set, is positive and negative in type, does 



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not form a logical sequence from beliefs, through values, to habits, and so 

derives its tenor from inconsistent BVH components.   

    

The tenor of a BVH mix has two contradictory aspects: positive (pro-success) 

and negative (anti-success). Recognizing this two-part tenor is vital as it 

enables us to make useful distinctions while sorting out the sequence of a BVH 

mix. 

  

Under the “Sequence” column, a BVH mix’s tenor is prefixed with “pro-“ or 

“anti-“. These prefixes are attached to a word or phrase that captures an 

element of BVH mix’s contradictory tenor. If that element supports life, for 

example, we may refer to it as “pro-life”; and if it is against the use of 

vaccines, we may tag it “anti-vaccines” in the BVH mix “Sequence” column. 

The use of these two prefixes reflects the inconsistent pattern we see in a BVH 

mix and the illogical nature of its sequence. A forward slash is used to 

demarcate the elements of a BVH mix tenor. Example: pro-life / anti-vaccines. 

  

The BVH table below contains only BVH mix. 

 

Table 6: BVH Table (2) 

 Beliefs 
 

Values Habits 

1 There is life after 

death: the righteous 

will go to heaven and 

sinners will go to 

hell.  
 

church-attendance, 

get-rich-quick 

schemes 

 

profiteer, 

smuggler, 

loan shark, 

buyer of stolen 

goods, 

church goer 
 

2 Smokers are liable to 

die young. 
 

regular exercise, 

medical checkups 
 

chain smoking, 

campaigns against 

public nonsmoking 

areas 
 

3 It is an abomination 

for a woman to 

commit adultery. 
 

women’s sexual 

faithfulness, men’s 

sexual freedom 
 

womanizing, cheats 

on wife 
 

 

 

You will observe that each mix of beliefs, values and habits cannot be said to 

be logical or sequential as there is no mutually consistent meaning, as we see in 

a BVH set. This is why a BVH mix is not simply positive (+) or negative (–) 

but both positive and negative (±). 



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In spite of its sequential discrepancy, a BVH mix is very valuable. It 

communicates information that reflects human foibles and the ironic nature of 

reality. There is so much inconsistency in real-life behaviour, so much 

disconnect between what people believe or claim to believe and what they 

actually do: this is what the BVH mix captures and expresses. Very few people 

lead lives that only BVH sets can truly reflect; in this sense, BVH mix may 

serve as a truer mirror of the average person’s behaviour. 

 

BVH Mix Codes 

Earlier, two distinct BVH codes – BVH set code and BVH mix code – were 

identified. While their functions are the same, BVH mix codes are 

distinguished from BVH set codes by the letter “M” (stands for “mix”) that 

precedes the number denoting the row where the BVH mix is located in a table.  

 

We can use BVH codes to represent each of the three BVH mix of Table 6 as 

follows: 

 

Table 7: BVH Mix Codes 

Detailed Reference BVH Code 
 

1st BVH Mix (Table 6, row 1) 
 

BVH-M1 
 

2nd BVH Mix (Table 6, row 2) BVH-M2 
 

3rd BVH Mix (Table 6, row 3) 
 

BVH-M3 
 

 

BVH-Mix Tables 

A BVH-Mix table provides quick tabular insight into the types, tenor and 

sequence of coded BVH mix. In spite of the fact that there is no sequentially-

derived tenor and no logical sequence in a BVH-Mix table, it has four columns, 

the same number of columns we see in a BVH-Set table. This columnar 

uniformity enables us to combine both tables in a BVH-Set/Mix Table. 

 

The BVH-Mix table below is drawn using BVH data provided in Tables 6 and 

7. Notice that the tenor of each BVH-mix is both positive and negative. 

 

 

 

 



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Table 8: BVH-Mix Table 

BVH Code 
 

Type 
 

Tenor Sequence 

BVH-M1 ± 

 

church-

attendance, 

get-rich-quick 

schemes 

pro-church attendance/anti-honest business 

 

BVH-M2 ± 

 

regular exercise, 

medical 

checkups 

pro-warning against smoking / pro-

exercise / anti-public nonsmoking areas 

 

BVH-M3 ± 

 

women’s sexual 

faithfulness, 

men’s sexual 

freedom 

anti-female adultery / pro-male extra-

marital affairs 

 

 

BVH-Set/Mix Table 

As earlier noted, a BVH-Set table can be combined with a BVH-Mix table to 

form a single table known as BVH-Set/Mix Table. Though a BVH-Set/Mix 

table is often a combination of BVH-Set and BVH-Mix tables, it can be a 

direct result of a single BVH table that contains rows of BVH sets as well as 

those of BVH mix. The BVH-Set/Mix table below (Table 9) is a combination 

of tables 5 (BVH-Set) and 8 (BVH-Mix).  

  

Table 9: BVH-Set/Mix Table 

BVH Code 

 

Type 

 

Tenor Sequence 

BVH-S1 + 

 

patience, 

consistency, orderly 

progress 

 

continuity→consistency→success 

 

BVH-S2 + time-consciousness, 

decisiveness, speed, 

smartness 

 

new things→new opportunities→quick 

benefits 

 

 

BVH-S3 – cleverness, theft, 

bribery, forgery, 

impatience, hustle 

 

crime→cleverly committed→OK 

 

 

BVH-M1 ± church-attendance, 

get-rich-quick 

schemes 

 

pro-church attendance/anti-honest 

business 

 

 

BVH-M2 ± regular exercise, 

medical checkups 

 

pro-warning against smoking / pro-

exercise / anti-public nonsmoking areas 

 

BVH-M3 ± women’s sexual 

faithfulness, men’s 

sexual freedom 

 

anti-female adultery / pro-male extra-

marital affairs 

 

 

 



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Assuming the data used in drawing the conclusions represented in this table 

were obtained from two or more BVH-Set and BVH-Mix tables, using a single 

BVH-Set/Mix table to represent it would give a more unified and comparative 

picture. The accommodation of such all-inclusive data is one of the benefits of 

a BVH-Set/Mix table. 

 

More on BVH Tables 

In this segment, we would show further ways in which BVH tables as well as 

BVH-Set and BVH-Mix tables can be presented. So far in this paper, we have 

drawn mostly separate BVH sets and BVH mix tables, and have combined 

them merely for illustrative purposes. However, a single table can contain, in 

interchanging pattern, units of BVH sets and those of BVH mix. In Table 10, 

we have alternated BVH set with BVH mix by joining two of the tables earlier 

discussed (Tables 4 and 6) to show how such a single table might look. 
 

Table 10 
ble (3)  

 Beliefs Values Habits 

1 Slow and steady wins the 

race. 

 

patience, consistency, 

orderly progress 

 

follows due process, stays 

in the same job for long, 

secures success in due 

course 
 

2 There is life after death: 

the righteous will go to 

heaven and sinners will 

go to hell.  

 

church-attendance, 

get-rich-quick schemes 

 

profiteer, 

smuggler, 

loan shark, 

buyer of stolen goods, 

church goer 
 

3 Time waits for no one. 

 

time-consciousness, 

decisiveness, speed, 

smartness 

always on the lookout for 

new opportunities to 

exploit, easily tries new 

things, engaged in side 

ventures that bring in 

extra income 
 

4 Smokers are liable to die 

young. 

 

regular exercise, medical 

checkup 

 

chain smoking, 

campaigns against public 

nonsmoking areas 
 

5 It’s all fair and OK as 

long as you don’t get 

caught. 

cleverness, theft, bribery, 

forgery, impatience, 

hustle 

 

runs a prostitution and 

armed robbery ring, 

engaged in cross-border 

trafficking of girls 
 

6 It is an abomination for a 

woman to commit 

adultery. 

women’s sexual 

faithfulness, men’s 

sexual freedom 

womanizing, cheats on 

wife 

 

Table 10 does not present ready information on the type and nature of the six 

BVH units contained in the table. Additional information can be added by 

inserting BVH Codes and BVH Types to the table to give us what we can term 



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a Joint BVH Units Table (JBUT). 

   

We can add BVH codes and types to Table 10 to turn it into a JBUT chart 

(Table 11): 

 

Table 11: Joint BVH Units Table (JBUT) 
 

BVH Code Beliefs 
 

Values Habits BVH Type 
 

BVH-S1 Slow and steady 

wins the race. 

 

patience, 

consistency, 

orderly progress 

 

follows due 

process, stays in 

the same job for 

long, secures 

success in due 

course 

 

+ 

BVH-M1 There is life after 

death: the 

righteous will go 

to heaven and 

sinners will go to 

hell.  

church-attendance, 

get-rich-quick 

schemes 

 

profiteer, 

smuggler, 

loan shark, 

buyer of stolen 

goods, 

church goer 

 

± 

BVH-S2 Time waits for no 

one. 

 

time-

consciousness, 

decisiveness, 

speed, smartness 

on the lookout for 

new opportunities, 

tries new things, 

engages in side 

ventures that bring 

in extra income 

 

+ 

BVH-M2 Smokers are liable 

to die young. 

 

regular exercise, 

medical checkups 

 

chain smoking, 

campaigns against 

public nonsmoking 

areas 

 

± 

BVH-S3 It’s all fair and OK 

as long as you 

don’t get caught. 

cleverness, theft, 

bribery, forgery, 

impatience, hustle 

 

runs a prostitution 

and armed robbery 

ring, engages in 

cross-border 

trafficking of girls 

 

– 

BVH-M3 It is an 

abomination for a 

woman to commit 

adultery. 
 

women’s sexual 

faithfulness, men’s 

sexual freedom 

womanizing, 

cheats on wife 
± 

 

A JBUT chart contains five columns. The first is the BVH Code. The next are 

Beliefs, Values and Habits columns respectively. The fifth column indicates 

the BVH Type of each BVH unit. This is indicated with the plus (+), minus (–), 

or plus-minus (±) sign. 

 

A JBUT chart offers unique advantages. It gives all the information ordinarily 



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obtained from BVH tables in addition to all the information, apart from the 

ones in the Sequence column, provided in BVH-Set, BVH-Mix, or BVH-

Set/Mix tables. A JBUT chart results when BVH-code and BVH-type columns 

are added to a BVH table.  

 

On a final note, in describing the associated habits of a BVH set or a BVH mix, 

one should endeavour to state only the bare facts without qualifying them with 

judgmental adjectives or adverbs. Avoid labels that appear subjective and raise 

unnecessary questions: instead of writing, for instance, “silly drunkard”, simply 

write “drunkard” as there is no room in a typical table for you to tell us how 

silly the drunkard you have in mind is. In any case, tables of this nature may 

not typify only one individual; it may represent other drunkards all of whom 

may not be silly.  

 

BVH Relationships 

BVH Relationships refer to the way Belief-Values-Habit units or their 

components connect to produce patterns of behaviour. Given the awesome 

power of beliefs, values and habits as decisive factors in everyone’s personal 

growth and development, success or failure, we need to gain a little 

understanding of certain ways in which BVH units, their components or 

elements, can interact to yield positive or negative results. Such interactions 

between BVH units generate peculiar BVH relationships that, when 

understood, can enable the individual to strategize for success as well as 

enhance his or her understanding of the motives behind certain behaviours.   

 

Ordinarily, beliefs, values and habits of the same orientation work together. 

This is the ideal picture. So, when we see a person who believes that honesty is 

the best policy, who values integrity, we may conclude that he cannot take 

bribe to facilitate an illegal outcome. Conversely, when we see someone railing 

and fighting in public, particularly when he is beating a weaker person, it is 

easy to presume that he is a very rude fellow who has no control over his 

emotions and who, perhaps, believes that might is right. We usually expect 

someone’s beliefs to be in alignment with their values and habits. In reality, 

this is not always the case.   

 

Although more BVH relationships can be identified, we will discuss only three 

common ones, utilizing data from the JBUT chart below. The chart contains 

seven rows of BVH sets. The BVH sets are varied enough to represent some 

regular models of behaviour.  



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Table 12: JBUT chart of some regular BVH sets 
 

BVH Code Beliefs 
 

Values Habits BVH Type 

 

BVH-S1 God is the 

Creator of 

everything and 

He will judge 

everyone after 

their death. 
 
 

fear of God religious worship 

and acts of high 

moral probity 

+ 

BVH-S2 If you can’t do 

all you can for 

someone you 

love, you don’t 

deserve his or 

her love. 
 

sacrificial love doing whatever is 

demanded to please 

lover, keeping lover 

company and 

buying lover gifts 
 

+ 

BVH-S3 Parents and 

elders deserve to 

be greatly 

honoured. 

respect for 

parents and 

elders 

gesture of 

submission (e.g., 

genuflecting or 

prostrating) while 

greeting parents 

and elders 
 
 

+ 

BVH-S4 Retaliation is not 

evil; it is personal 

justice. 
 

revenge as show 

of manliness 
 

quick acts of 

retaliation 

 

– 

BVH-S5 Everything and 

everyone are 

products of the 

environment and 

all should 

harmoniously co-

exist. 
 
 

social harmony 

and respect for 

the environment  

acts responsibly in 

social and 

environmental 

matters 

 

+ 

BVH-S6 The end justifies 

the means. 

do-or-die 

approach to 

getting things 

done 
 
 

uses legal and illegal 

means to get anything 

desired 

– 

BVH-S7 It is all about the 

money. 

money or 

nothing 

undertakes business 

schemes that exploit 

and harm others  
 
 

– 

 

We can use the above chart and the two narrations below to identify and 

classify the following Belief-Values-Habit relationships:  

 Relationship of correspondence  

 Relationship of inducement  

 Relationship of concealment.  

Understanding these BVH relationships will be of practical benefit to us in our 



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personal and business involvements. Below, we explore the above three Belief-

Values-Habit relationships one by one. 

 

a. BVH Relationship of Correspondence  

You might have noticed that in each row of Table 12 every stated belief 

corresponds to the related values and habit. Of course, these are not the only 

values or habits these given beliefs could match. The important thing to note 

here is that the stated belief (denoted by the letter “b”) corresponds to the stated 

values (denoted by the letter “v”) which correspond to the stated habit (denoted 

by the letter “h”). This is why this kind of BVH relationship is called BVH 

relationship of correspondence.  

 

Because “b” is equal by definition to “v” (the kind of values denoted by “v” are 

correlatively equal to the kind of beliefs represented by “b”) and “v” is equal 

by definition to “h”, we can, using mathematical shorthand, represent this 

relationship of correspondence as: 

b ≙ v and v ≙ h. 

A relationship of correspondence is the prototype of the sequentially patterned 

behaviour. The regularity and predictability of this BVH relationship model is 

unmatched by any other BVH unit.   

 

b. BVH Relationship of Inducement 

BVH relationship of inducement results when an individual finds objectionable 

one of the constituent elements of a BVH set but is compelled to act in 

conformity with it due to the influence of an agreeable element extracted from 

another BVH set. This is not an uncommon relationship in human interactions 

as the following narration will show. 

 

1st Narration:  

Glen was a young man from Europe who visited an African country for 

the first time. He lived for one month in one of the country’s major cities. 

During his short stay, he met and fell in love with a beautiful girl called 

Kemi.  

The two lovers were in some ways compatible but their cultural 

backgrounds were different. Glen’s cultural values were very liberal. He 

called his father by his first name, greeted him and other elders in his 



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community without any special gesture of respect. Kemi’s ethnic setting 

demanded demonstrative respect for elders. Because they were obsessed 

with each other, Glen and Kemi never bothered to discuss cultural or 

personal differences.  

Before Glen travelled back to Europe, they had agreed to get married. 

When he got to his country, Glen discussed the matter with his parents 

and was delighted when they gave him their consent. What remained was 

for him to meet Kemi’s parents who were staying in the village, far from 

the city where he had met and interacted with their daughter..   

Shortly after receiving his parents’ blessings, Glen flew back to Kemi’s 

country to meet her parents. On the day he went, for the first time, to see 

his potential father-in-law and mother-in-law, he was accompanied by his 

fiancée and a few city folks, mainly young men and women from Kemi’s 

ethnic group. No one had prepared his mind about what to expect in his 

fiancée’s village home. 

On meeting Kemi’s parents, Glen’s gorgeously dressed entourage 

prostrated on the somewhat dusty floor. Although it was the first time the 

young foreigner was seeing such a behavioural display, he quickly 

recovered from his culture shock and also prostrated on the ground, 

almost synchronizing with everyone else. He waited till the last male 

member of the entourage stood up from the ground before he, too, did so. 

Kemi’s parents were impressed and Glen and their daughter were 

formally engaged. 

This foreign son-in-law kept up this habit of prostrating before his wife’s 

parents even after he had gotten married to their daughter. 

There is a BVH relationship of inducement in this narration and we shall use 

the above JBUT chart (Table 12) to illustrate it. Thenceforth, it is to this JBUT 

chart that all references to BVH codes or sets would be directed.  

Glen and Kemi share everything outlined in BVH-S2. Both of them in 

principle agree with BVH-S3, even though, because they never discussed it, 

Glen had no prior knowledge of the specific habit (a common cultural practice 

in Kemi’s ethnic background) outlined in BVH-S3, column 3.  



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Both believe in honouring parents and treating them with respect is part of their 

shared values; but they had no mutual understanding that this should be done 

as outlined in BVH-S3, column 3. This matter was never discussed before Glen 

found himself prostrating, for the first time in his life, before two strangers.  

What made him to do it? He believed in honouring elders, he valued respecting 

them but the related culture-specific habit of prostrating before them was very 

strange to him. So, what made him to prostrate? An interventional element 

from another BVH set – Glen’s habitual inclination to do “whatever is 

demanded to please (his) lover” (BVH-S2, column 3) – induced him to 

prostrate on the somewhat dusty floor as dictated by the objectionable element 

in BVH-S3, column 3.  

To make this concept clearer, let’s represent what happened with symbols. 

Two BVH sets are involved in this interaction. Set A consists of the following: 

BVH-S2’s Belief component (b2), Values component (v2) and Habit 

component (h2). Set B consists of the following: BVH-S3’s Belief component 

(b3), Values component (v3) and Habit component (h3). (Please revisit the 

table to see the comma-separated elements in these components.) These two 

BVH sets can be represented thus: 

A = {b2, v2, h2} 

B = {b3, v3, h3} 

Glen, we have earlier said, was in agreement with all the components of set A 

and all but one component (h3) of set B. Suddenly faced with the challenge of 

acting in accordance with this somewhat objectionable component (h3), Glen 

responded quickly by extracting an element (“Doing whatever is demanded to 

please lover”) from set A’s habit component (h2). This element induced him to 

comply with the objectionable demands of set B’s habit component (h3), thus 

creating, symbolically speaking, a new set which we may represent as follows: 

C = {b3, v3, h3, h2} 

To continue with our set imagery, we can say that this was how Glen’s initial 

misgivings were overwhelmed: compelled by the emergent set C’s 



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combination of elements, especially by the powerful effect of h2, the 

influential element extracted from set A, Glen came to grips with the reality of 

the situation and quickly prostrated on the floor.  

When mastered and deliberately applied, BVH relationship of inducement can 

be a very useful self-improvement strategy. 

 

Now, you may ask, can the BVH relationship of inducement be used to account 

for Glen’s habit of prostrating before Kemi’s parents years after being married 

to their daughter? No. On that first visit, Glen prostrated on the bare ground in 

fulfillment of a perceived need to please his lover, not her parents. Subsequent 

prostrations (which, by the way, had become a low bow with only his right 

fingers touching the ground) occurred as a result of acculturation and in 

demonstration of his sincere respect for two amiable elders who loved him and 

took him as their own son. 

c. BVH Relationship of Concealment 

BVH relationship of concealment occurs when all the components of a genuine 

BVH set are concealed by the components of another BVH set appropriated to 

deceive, confuse or oblige others. The appropriated BVH set can be said to be 

counterfeit because it is not the genuine BVH set of the appropriator. We shall 

use the following narration to illustrate BVH relationship of concealment. 

 

2nd Narration:  

Georgio, convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, waited 

impatiently to be set free so that he could exact revenge on the man who 

was a key witness during his trial. He joined one of the religious 

fellowships in the prison and put up an outward show of piety. Because 

of his apparent good behaviour, he was released on parole. After his 

release, he reported regularly to the authorities in fulfillment of the 

conditions attached to his parole.  

Judging from his speech and social habits, the paroled prisoner appeared 

to be a man who had acquired some constructive values. People 

acknowledged his new religious belief, and the accompanying positive 



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  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 36 
 

changes in his character. Georgio, from all appearances, seemed 

reasonably reformed and everyone considered him a changed man.  

They were wrong! The paroled prisoner’s genuine beliefs, values, and 

habits had not changed! He was only a good actor patiently waiting for an 

opportunity to strike. Barely two months after his conditional release, 

Georgio murdered the man who had witnessed against him during his 

trial and disappeared from town.  

The BVH relationship of concealment occurs when there is a masking of a set 

of authentic BVH components (let’s call it set A) by a set of inauthentic, often 

opposite, BVH components (set B).  

We can use the JBUT chart (Table 12) to explain the two key sets of behaviour 

in the 2nd Narration. In that narration, a counterfeit set (set B) of beliefs (b1), 

values (v1) and habits (h1) (see BVH-S1) were deployed by Georgio to conceal 

his genuine set (set A) of negative beliefs (b4), values (v4) and habits (h4) (see 

BVH-S4). The genuine, though negative, BVH set can be represented thus: 

A = {b4, v4, h4} 

while the counterfeit, though positive, BVH set can be represented as  

B = {b1, v1, h1} 

Note that no element of set A belongs to set B as both sets share nothing in 

common. Because the two BVH sets are disjoint, we can express their 

relationship thus:  

A ∩ B = ϕ 

In BVH relationship of concealment, two disjointed BVH sets, one of which is 

authentic, are involved. To achieve manipulative or deceptive purposes, the 

authentic BVH set is concealed while the inauthentic BVH set is fronted by the 

manipulator.  

In the above narration, Georgio, the manipulative actor, concealed his authentic 

BVH set (set A) by covering it with his inauthentic BVH set (set B), thereby 



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  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 37 
 

deceiving people and securing his parole. After that, he reverted to his 

authentic BVH set (set A) and executed his murderous retaliation against the 

man who had witnessed against him.  

The BVH relationship of concealment comes into play when someone feels the 

need to camouflage his or her true motives or values. It is commonly employed 

by the trust-breaching criminal who uses it to create a false image, win the 

undeserved confidence of others, and make his or her target victims less 

suspicious or vigilant.  

Those who may not necessarily be ill-motivated also employ this stratagem. 

For relationship reasons, and usually under the undue influence of peers, many 

people have employed this scheme to conceal their true beliefs or values when 

they perceive these to be contrary to the pervasive ethic of their social circle. 

What we get from this is that human beings can display patterns of behaviour 

that appear to affirm a given belief while, in reality, that belief may or may not 

conform to their genuine belief-values-habit set. Someone’s behaviour can 

indicate traits that do not, in any way, correspond to his or her genuine BVH 

set. All these make inter-personal relationships complex, with uneasy 

implications for personal development and visionary pursuit. 

One of the first steps some people need to take to discover and live their 

authentic lives is to identify and tear off the layers of BVH concealment which 

for years had complicated their development and hindered their success. We all 

need to remove all pretences and be true to that genuine voice and impulse in 

each of us directing us to our individual path of purpose and self-fulfillment. 

We need to be authentic to maximize our true worth, for authenticity is at the 

root of every durable success. 

 

Conclusion 

We have explored, in this paper, the pivotal role of beliefs, values and habits in 

determining the outcome of personal endeavours. And we have stressed that 

the inability of some people to achieve hilltop success basically springs from 

their failure to evaluate themselves, jettison negative mindsets and behaviours, 



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  Copyright © GOJAR 2022                                                                    Page 38 
 

and adopt and stick to only those beliefs, values and habits that steer them 

towards their desired goal.  

 

A lot of people are struggling with their careers, businesses and life goals – 

they are failing to be motivated by really great motivational stuff because they 

are yet to acknowledge and activate the success power that could be generated 

from their conscious refinement and deployment of their beliefs, values and 

habits. The ultimate point of this paper is that having control over the 

circumstances of life is significantly dependent upon how individuals evaluate, 

realign and utilize their beliefs, values and habits. 

 

 

 

References 

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Elizur, D. & Sagie, A. (1999). Facets of Personal Values: A Structural Analysis 

of Life and Work Values. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 

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Engel, P. (2019). Belief as a Disposition to Act: Variations on a Pragmatist 

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https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/fd92/28fe6b8921f3ddf67b47203c95218bc7d5

15.pdf Assessed on 12th Dec., 2019. 

https://pediaa.com/difference-between-values-and-beliefs/. Assessed on 

December 9, 2021. 

Kaushal, S.L. & Janjhua, Y. (2011, July). An Empirical Study on Relationship 

between Personal Values and Performance Values. Himachal Pradesh 

University Journal. 



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Misak, C. J. (2016). Cambridge Pragmatism: From Peirce and James to 

Ramsey and Wittgenstein. Oxford University Press, 19. 

Schwartz, S.H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: 

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Author Information: Duve Nakolisa is the General Editor, Klamidas 

Klamidas Books, Abuja, Nigeria.  

Email: books@klamidas.com. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


