Believe in yourself. It sounds trite, I know. The phrase has been passed around for decades by well-meaning parents and teachers to the point that most people won’t even think about what it means anymore. Regardless, the message tucked inside the phrase is still important.
Believing in yourself means you have faith in your abilities to do what you set out to do. It means overcoming your own self-doubt and having the confidence to take action. You’ve got to believe that your spark of creativity and drive to achieve will take you to where you want to go. When it comes to setting goals and meeting challenges, the first and most important key to achieving success is the belief that you, in fact, can do hard things.
What if you struggle to believe in yourself?
Usually, confidence is easily seen in others but really hard to see in the mirror. When you compare your weakness to someone else’s strengths, you automatically put yourself at a massive disadvantage. You are seeing accomplishments of skills that other people have spent years developing and comparing it to something you might not have even tried yet. It’s not fair to yourself to do this.
It’s healthy to cheer on the achievements of others. It’s definitely unhealthy to dwell on why you aren’t good enough. Instead, take the time to acknowledge your own strengths and things that you’ve spent time developing. It’s these strengths that will guide you toward your greatest success.
When was the last time you considered what your strengths are?
The more you understand your strengths, the better you’ll be able to cater to those strengths. People who spend time working toward improving what they are already good at, go from being simply good to achieving excellence.
The only way to get better at something is to try over and over and be okay with not being great at it for a while.
If it’s hard to think of your strengths, ask others what they think your strengths are. You might be surprised to hear what they say. There are also several online tests that can help pinpoint what you naturally excel at, like the High5 test.
What about those things that you might not have a strength in, but want to learn anyway?
Do it anyway. The only way to get better at something is to try over and over and be okay with not being great at it for a while. Make a point of being a little uncomfortable in order to grow.
Find other great advice here.
