Believing in yourself

Believing in one's self takes a conscious effort. It is a decisive act. Many a time we inertly seek acknowledgement from others before we acknowledge ourselves. Belief in one’s self does not mean "to take pride in yourself". It is not being boastful but about having confidence in one’s self; being able to encourage yourself especially when nobody

does.

Majority of us as humans have innate fears that nobody else may know about besides us. Sometimes as a result of a low self-esteem, some feel bad about their looks, others their gait, some are uncomfortable with the way they talk – all sorts of things. For such people, they need to build confidence in themselves.  Concentrate and commend yourself about other things about yourself that you like. Confident people have developed a habit of focusing on their strengths rather than on their weaknesses.

When one is confident, he or she is able to face the world with boldness and openness, enabling one give his/her best to the world. In life, we will come across people who are prettier, smarter and more gifted than we are. The worst thing you can do is to start comparing yourself with them. I for one have a “beautiful” husky voice as a woman; believe me, it took me a long time to come to appreciate it as being beautiful. Before now, I had spent a lot of years lamenting over the fact that I didn't have a “tiny – winny” voice like most ladies, but right now, a lot of people more often than not compliment me on having a lovely voice.

At one point or another in our lives, we all have things we are dealing with. Even those you think are fearless and very bold probably have to deal with issues like aggression or rudeness and stuff like that. The point is no one individual is all together perfect in him or herself: we are all dealing with something at one point or the other of our lives. By boldly verbalizing declarations such as “I will not yield to fear” (if you suffer from fear for instance) consistently, will enable you to live above it. Fear is one crippling factor of self-confidence; so many people, who would have been great in their life time, live in obscurity, their talents remain unexpressed as a result of fear, judgement or criticism.

Unless one makes a conscious decision to confront fear, he or she will never live free of it. Be encouraged and stir up the spirit of boldness that the Almighty has placed within you, that can spur you to greater heights; You never can tell what you will become tomorrow when you take a step of faith in the right direction. Too often we fail in our efforts because we have conditioned ourselves to thinking that we might not make it or get it right. Those who succeed in life are people who dare to look past their shortcomings and mistakes in life to believe in themselves. You have great potentials lying within you that are in need of your attention. Simply do the best you can with what you have or where you are right now, having faith that you will get to where you desire to get to; and soon you will.

Unfortunately, most people make the mistake of focusing on what they lack or have lost rather than what they've got working for them; of what good is that to anyone? Drop the “what ifs” and “if only” and like a stallion, “get up and get going!” Stop making excuses like, “I would have been a popular singer if only I had a beautiful voice.” Or “I would have been a millionaire, if only I had gone through the school.” Donald Trump, a popular billionaire wrote in one of his books, “…most times, it isn't the most brilliant or smartest ones that make the most money…” To add to that, Bill Gates wasn't the brightest in class in his time but today, he is known over the globe for his invention and wealth.  Thomas Edison failed well over a seven hundred times trying to produce the light bulb we all use today. What is common with all these people is that they believed in themselves and never gave up despite the obvious challenges and discouragements. They didn't let that get the better of them. They were all go getters so they excelled. There are countless numbers of people still succeeding today in their chosen fields of endeavor; the question is what are you doing about your own dreams?

You really need to get going my friend. Step out of your comfort zone by believing in yourself first. Like the laser beam or an intense ray of light, focus on what God has put on your inside. Refuse to give in to fear, doubt or discouragement. Have the right attitude and don’t quit. Shelve negative comments from people, but seek constructive criticisms. No matter how many times you fail trying, like Thomas Edison say to yourself, “… I've only learnt ways not to go about it.” In essence, every failure is a step towards the right direction. It’s never over until YOU say so! See you at the top

An article by Dr. Stephanie OARHE.