One thing I have never been short of is self-belief.  I don’t mean that in an arrogant way, and I am not an over-confident person but I have always been able to see what I am capable of and how I can accomplish my goals. There is a huge difference between self-belief and confidence but they do occasionally work together to help achieve your success.

 

I have also been able to recognise my limitations and weaknesses and have been able to put them aside and if needed be able to work on these but not focus on them or let them hold me back. I think to be successful you need to be very self-aware and knowing both your strengths and weaknesses is a big part in being able to make potentially life changing decisions.

Working solely on your strengths and believing in yourself will pay dividends for your future self.

 

We seem to spend a lot of time concerned with what others think of us and although we believe in ourselves we let their views and beliefs impact on our lives – this can, without us realising, have a detrimental effect on us truly believing in ourselves and what we can achieve.

We seem to want and need validation from our friends, colleagues, our bosses and even people who do not have an influence on our daily lives in any way – but we yearn acceptance.

This can slowly erode our self-belief and although we still feel and think we believe in ourselves we have been compromised in our thinking.

Because other people’s dreams or aspirations are not as big as yours should not stop you from thinking big and dreaming big.

 

To believe in yourself fully without question takes courage. It is very easy to think big, but not to truly believe it, cheating yourself and spending more time thinking of what could go wrong and focussing on the weaknesses we have rather than staying true to yourself and fulfilling your dreams.

 

To believe in yourself you have got to trust the journey and the path you are on. We need to remember that all good things take time – we need be patient and trust the process. Our journey in life is full of many challenging situations both personally and professionally.

Having the self-belief in knowing that you will succeed in what you dream and hope will become reality is what you MUST have.

But you must remember that believing in yourself does not work though unless you do. Through self-belief alone you will not become successful or achieve the goals you have set yourself.

 

You have got to work hard every day

 

Working hard every day and being consistent in all you do will help, but there are many traits you need to follow your dreams; dedication, focus, relentlessness, determination, never giving up – but it is BELIEVING IN YOURSELF that is the most important.

If you have that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.

 

Being someone who has always believed in myself – I have also sometimes questioned whether that belief was justified and have asked myself many times, if I was going to accomplish all I wanted. But I have always been positive and trusted myself and my passion to succeed.

I have always found it funny how people around you, people who say they believe in your abilities and who seem to support you soon change their view and opinion when it puts you at a higher level (or so they think) to where they feel they are.

Former colleagues of mine (and I assure you - plenty of them) have often thought I was arrogant and over-confident and that at some point in my career I would get to a point where I could get no further – and I would guess sometimes they would like to see me fail. Well, I have failed many times and I have made lots of wrong choices throughout my career. But this over-confidence or arrogance was NOT that – it was believing in myself, my path, my journey and the process.

My belief in myself has never wavered and that is why I have achieved all I have and the reason I will continue to push myself further and achieve more and more to continually improve myself.

 

Believing in myself has also given me the opportunity to help others believe in themselves too. Helping others to believe that their dreams and goals are achievable, whatever they might be, is very rewarding and also validates your belief in what you can do.

When others see that believing in yourself actually works and that if you have the courage and conviction to trust yourself you can become anything you believe.

 

Never stop believing in yourself – YOU make the difference in your life and never seek validation or acceptance from others. The only person you have to answer to is yourself. Trust your journey and if you can dream it you can achieve it.

 

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF