Believe in yourself and watch your world change

Children and adults alike have one thing in common—the power to believe in themselves.  So often we read about those super stars, those individuals who made it in their competitive environment and when observed and interviewed, it is soon realized that the greatest part of their success is and was their ability to believe in themselves. 

Self-confidence, feeling worthy and trusting your talents and skills is a gift in itself.  There are several childhood stories that were written to prove this point and to be an inspiration to all the children of the world as they face new experiences.  The story of Dumbo is one and The Little Engine That Could is another.

How often in life do we look at a situation and say, I don’t know if I can do that or I don’t know how—I’ve never done that before.  When we place our focus on our doubt or worry or fear we set ourselves up to stall as we create a mind set that says—it isn’t going to get done because I can’t do it.

To refuse to try and take a leap of faith is self-defeating and debilitating but if you could replace those thoughts with “I will try and give it a chance, you just might be able to be triumphant and end up saying, I thought I could, I thought I could.”

The story of Dumbo illustrates how a small baby elephant with big ears was laughed at and insulted to the point that all Dumbo wanted to do was hid—until one day he was led to believe that he had the power to fly.  His confidence immediately soared and his notoriety grew.  His ability to believe in himself is what made all the difference in the world for Dumbo.

The Little Engine that Could felt inadequate and incapable of performing her big task.  She was sure that she would fail unless she could get help moving her heavy load up over the hill.   She felt that she needed a helping hand and she went out looking for it.  It wasn’t so much that she didn’t believe in herself, it was more that she understood her limitations and sought to find a team mate to help her complete her task.  I am sure there are times in all of our lives when we need to call on the help of another so that we can accomplish our goal.

Discernment is the ability to understand yourself and your capabilities and then make a choice based on your self-knowledge. 

There is power in self-knowing, there is power in feeling worthy and confident and there is power in believing in yourself.

When you believe in your self and your talents your entire body language and physiology sends out that message for all to know.  Over the years I have heard many motivational speakers say:  “Fake it till you believe it,”  I agree.  There have been many times in my life when I lacked the confidence to believe what I was wanting to experience so I began to work on my belief system by continually saying something that helped build my confidence and change my beliefs.  What I discovered was that soon, I felt the shift in my thinking.  I began to feel more comfortable with my pursuit and soon I was ready to enjoy the experience that prior to this time  I was avoiding—all because I started to believe that what I wanted was possible and actually belonged to me. 

If you have faced the same challenging moments, I want you to know that you too can grow and build your confidence level until you start to say:  I know I can, I know I can.

 
Joan Marie Ambrose

Author, Creative Writer, Motivational Speaker