Imagine: what would your life look like if you have complete confidence in yourself that you could achieve anything you put your mind to?
If you believed you couldn’t fail at anything you put your mind to, what would you dare to dream?
Take a minute and think about it, then write it down…I’ll wait for you to come back…
Glad you’re back!
So what’s the problem? Why haven’t you achieved that thing you just wrote down? If it’s something you really want and if you believed you couldn’t fail in getting it, why hasn’t it happened?
You could make a list a mile long of all the reasons it hasn’t:
- not enough time
- not enough money
- not enough knowledge
- not enough space
- too many other obligations
- too old
- too young
- and on and on your list will grow
But it’s not the truth. Oh, sure all of those ‘reasons’ may be true but they are only excuses. You’re missing the most important one.
I’m not good enough, I can’t do it.
And there is it. A lack of belief in yourself. The single most important reason you succeed or not.
I had a hard time meeting people and making new friends. I didn’t raise my hand to work math problems on the chalkboard in sixth grade. I didn’t play sports in high school. I didn’t open the donut shop I wanted.
All because I didn’t believe that I could.
But when did this happen? As a child we were full of belief in ourselves. Ever seen a child tell their parent, “I do it myself!” when trying to be fed or get dressed? Ever seen a little one get up again and again after falling down when learning to walk? Belief was running strong.
Any lack of belief in your ability to accomplish whatever it is you put your mind to is a learned behavior. So, that means you can learn to have belief in yourself…again!
I never thought of myself as a writer. I had a story in my head for eight years, and I believed it was important to tell. One day I started writing, just a little bit, because I believed I could write that day. Then the next. Until I finished writing The Success Grower, a story about believing in your dreams and setting goals.
Self-doubt continues to hang around today, but I certainly believe in myself much more than I ever have before. Does that mean that I won’t ever fail or quit? No, and that’s okay. The important thing I have learned is that it’s okay to try and fail…to believe enough in yourself to give yourself the chance to succeed. You may not succeed every time, but you will begin to develop the self-confidence to know that you will give it a shot and that you can.
1. You must believe in yourself. Start by doing something you said you would do. Set daily goals and hit them. Start small, cross them off your list, and your belief and self-confidence will begin to grow.
2. You need to have the right mindset about success. What you say to yourself isn’t always positive or supportive. A lot of the time the negative voices in your head are the loudest. I can’t do it, I’m stupid, I never finish anything. Stop the negative talk. Pay attention to what you’re saying to yourself. Create new positive thoughts and self-talk.
3. Decide what you really want, and believe without a doubt that you can have it or achieve it. Don’t let life just happen. Most people are stuck in a rut, and can’t see a way out. Choose to go after what you want. If you want a new career because you’re tired of the one you have, change it. You get to choose. Believe in yourself and then do it.
Without belief…in yourself…that you can…you probably won’t even take a chance. Without even trying, you’ll never know what you can have and achieve in your life.
We don’t encourage each other enough these days. Everyone has skills and talents but don’t have belief in their abilities.
I continue to grow my belief every day, try new things and stretch my comfort zone.
I want you to have that same belief.
If your belief isn’t big enough yet, take some of mine. I believe you can…I believe in your abilities…I believe you are here for a reason.
What could you do if you truly believed you could achieve it?