Believe In Yourself

“It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.” - unknown

Have you ever tried to learn something new? Think back to the first time that you ever saw a gymnast during the Summer Olympics. As she tumbles, spins, and does numerous tricks it is hard to see her (or him) as a beginner. How do you think she acted the first time that she ever stepped on the mat? I have a hard time believing that she thought of herself as an Olympic gymnast. That kind of thought and belief in yourself takes time and effort. It takes inner proof.

The first time this gymnast saw the balancing beam, do you think there was at least a little fear? When the bar is as far off of the ground as you are tall it can seem quite intimidating. But for her to get over her fear she had to step outside of her comfort zone and do it. What about the first time she fell off of that bar? She had to say to herself, “I can do this, I'm going to try again.” Step by step, inch by inch faith in her abilities and belief in herself took over the fear that kept her from doing it before. She learned by failure.

One of the biggest things that separates the hugely successful from the hugely average is how they deal with failure and rejection. If you try something and fail, and then subsequently quit - you are as average as they come. But if you take that failure and try again anyway, perhaps learning something about what went wrong with that failure in the process then you have a kinship with the hugely successful. For example, I know that this is not the best article that I could write. I could have had someone proof read it prior to publishing. I could have done a lot more research, maybe even conducted a case study to see how people are going to understand what I present to them. There are many things that I could have done differently, but I published it anyway. As I write more for you I am going to learn a few tricks, gain more self confidence, and believe in myself much more.

So who do you think you are? Do you see yourself as one who cannot get that job because you don't have the experience that you think that you need? Are you one who will never be good enough at “that” to do it well, so you never try? I think this is the essence of my opening quotation. It is not who you are today that matters, it is who you see yourself becoming – or not becoming that makes or breaks you.

I know it sounds corny, maybe a little self hypnotic, but positive affirmations work. So to close this short article, I'll leave you with some homework to do. Try a few positive affirmations. Do them at the start of your day, preferably someplace quiet and away from everyone else. (We don't need others to influence our thoughts) Just affirm those aspects that you like about yourself, and want to see more of in yourself. You may want to try and affirm a few things that you are not presently representing, but want to. Fake it until you make it. Affirmations bring your desires into focus, so that you have them on your mind as you run your day. By saying them everyday, you will slowly bring those thoughts into your mind as the day progresses, and as these days become weeks these thoughts become actions. This is how you can become that which you never thought you'd be.

Have a wonderful day!