Strengthening Your Belief in Yourself

Believe in yourself!

Have faith in your abilities!

Without a humble but reasonable confidence

in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.

This may sound strange, but the one person that you will always have in your life is you. In order to have an existence that is peaceful, yet exciting and fulfilling, it is vitally important to believe in yourself. When you believe in yourself, you have confidence in your ability to handle almost anything that life throws your way. You recognize that although things may be tough right this moment, you will get through it.

If that voice deep down inside of you ever says, “But what if I’m not really sure that I can handle something,” then you can probably benefit from boosting your self-confidence and recognizing more of your own abilities.

Here are some strategies to do that:

1. Know yourself. Who are you? How would you describe yourself to someone who doesn’t know you? Write down a description of yourself.

“[Your name] is a person who_____________.”

Keep writing what you know about yourself. And then when you’re finished, read it. Does it give the reader a clear picture or understanding of who you are?

2. Develop a real understanding for how you react in certain situations. For example, if someone tells you that they are angry about something you did, how do you usually respond? When people ask for help, what do you do most of the time? Are you particularly grumpy and un-helpful when you are tired? I know I am. By beginning to notice the behaviors you perform whenever challenging situations arise, you will more clearly see your true capabilities.

3. Be comfortable with your own feelings. Recognize what you are feeling and label it. Is it sadness you feel as you watch your little ones growing up? Or is it pride? It’s really okay to shed a tear over a poignant commercial or a sad or touching movie.

4. Recognize your strong points. Although most people can identify their weak areas right away, it can sometimes be challenging to see your own strong points. Recognizing the areas of life in which you do really well is a great confidence-booster.

5. Make a habit of reminding yourself that you have made it through some challenging situations in life already. When you can look back over some of the adversities that you have risen above in the past, it helps you to realize that you can get through these current tough times as well. You can probably easily recount many of the difficult phases you’ve had in your life. Yet here you are, still standing, surviving and maybe even thriving.

Be inspired by the initiative, personal strength, fortitude and courage that you have shown so far in life. Say to yourself: “If I did that, then I can keep going and achieve even more.”

6. Get comfortable with admitting when you have made a mistake. This suggestion just might be the most important one on my short list today. If you can’t admit to yourself and others on a regular basis that you have made a mistake, the fact is that you will probably always have difficulty believing in yourself. Why? Because in order to believe in yourself, you must be real with yourself and others. Authenticity counts!

You see, otherwise, when you begin to notice that you cannot even be honest with yourself, your confidence will lag. It’s okay to be wrong. Let’s face it – most of us are wrong at least once a day. The first step in solving an issue or figuring your way out a conundrum is to acknowledge, “I did something wrong.”

If you recognize and acknowledge your errors, you are also showing great wisdom because you know that you cannot correct a mistake unless you can see the mistake in the first place. If you’re not already doing this, start by openly and honestly acknowledging your errors. That way, you can work on fixing them.

These actions will also help you believe in your ability to handle anything.

If you believe in yourself, your life will be so much easier. Believing in yourself brings a certain quiet confidence. Thoughtfully consider the above points and strengthen your resolve to believe in the one person who will always be with you: you!

Thoughts?

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/clintjcl/7176490453/sizes/z/in/photostream/