“Believe in yourself”
You’ve probably heard that three-word phrase more times than you can count, whether from your parents, from supportive friends, or from other articles and inspirational posts you’ve come across on the internet.
The concept of believing in yourself and maintaining wellness through self-acceptance has always been popular in literature, philosophy and religion, which means it can be very easy to fall into platitudes. Instead of rehashing the same old advice, we’re going to explain just how much power believing in yourself can give you, and how it can lead you down the road you’ve always wanted to be on.
There are many real life demonstrations and examples that will show you the importance of believing in yourself, but they can be more subtle than you think, and it is in these subtleties that you will find a newfound confidence that will not turn you to arrogance.
The Discrepancy Between Appearance and Belief
Appearances don’t always reflect truth. They rarely do. In fact, many people who appear to believe in themselves and have plenty of confidence, have most likely been exactly where you are, wondering how they can feel better about themselves and reach their goals. The most famous and successful people in the world, from all walks of life and all career fields, every single one of them has faced doubt and uncertainty about if they’re capable of succeeding, or if they even deserve to succeed. It’s a scary thought, but it is important to realize that in a competition driven society, where many industries can be unforgiving and cutthroat, lacking belief is perfectly normal, and is something that has been overcome millions of times by millions of people just like you. If it’s possible for them to overcome it, that means you will always be able to, even it takes time to get there.
Not only this, but once you realize how shallow and fake the concept of confidence really is, you won’t worry so much as to how you come across to others. You will focus more closely on what’s inside, rather than what you portray, and this will help you continue to grow into yourself and who you really are.
Maintaining Wellness
When you care for yourself in every aspect, physically and emotionally, you are doing yourself a great service. Maintaining wellness and believing in yourself go hand-in-hand, because people who do not take care of themselves and their well being are generally the people who have low opinions of themselves.
A great way to maintain wellness and foster a more loving relationship with yourself is to do small things each day. Do something that eases your stress, make a healthy meal, or even treat yourself to cake if you’ve had a rough day at work. Taking care of yourself needs to be done with a stern hand, but is well worth it; treat yourself, and care for yourself, but also know how to discipline yourself so that you will always be improving and challenging yourself to grow as a person.
Igniting Your Passions
Learning to believe in yourself will also teach you to focus on the things you are truly passionate about. Believing in yourself is not just a feeling that you turn inward towards yourself, but is also something that you project outwards into your future, making it more important than we realise when we simply look at its surface value.
For example, many parents want their children to follow a specific, pre-determined path, whether it’s to become a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer, something that is secure and will allow them to live a comfortable and prosperous life. However, the wishes and expectations that others put on you for your life are guaranteed to cloud your path and even subtly change the way you view your own future, and yourself. Many have resented their own passions and wishes because of the path they are expected to take, and these paths don’t have to necessarily be college/university, a well-paying 9 – 5 job, marriage, kids, and then retirement. Believing in yourself allows you to see yourself clearly, and accept the things that you truly want to do. It allows you to stop caring what other people think, and for their expectations to fall away and no longer have any power over you. It is shocking how many people do certain things only because it is expected of them.
Have Stronger Relationships
A negative perception towards yourself is certain to cause trouble in paradise. The way you feel towards yourself, if it is dark and distressed, this is bound to leak out and effect the people closest to you.
Believing in yourself and taking care to maintain your wellness will benefit not just your relationship with yourself, but your relationship with the people you care most about, and you will find that the bonds you form with other people will be much stronger than they once were.
Learning Perseverance
Once you start to believe in yourself, you will find it easier to overcome obstacles. If you want to pursue a career as an artist or musician, for example, believing in yourself will allow you to overcome the rejections and criticism you might face along the way. For people who lack confidence, these obstacles can be crippling. When you learn to believe in yourself, it will not exactly be a breeze to get through these drawbacks, but it will be much more manageable because you will be easier on yourself.
Being easy on yourself really is one of the keys to maintaining wellness. It will keep you from being your own worst enemy so that you can overcome challenges with the actual enemies, people who will try to bring you down on your path to success and accomplishing your goals. It is not an overnight change, but one that you can learn slowly if you are, like with studying for an important exam, willing to put in the time.
Conclusion
Maintaining wellness and, in hand, believing in yourself, is something that everyone should pay particular focus to. Life can be hard enough as it is without us beating ourselves down every chance we get, or every time we show that we are human and make mistakes.
Learn to care for yourself without indulging too much, and learn to think well of yourself without becoming one of those arrogant people that we’ve all come across. It’s all a constant balancing, but one worth taking the time to learn and get closer to each day. You will eventually be surprised by how far you’ve come regarding the way you view yourself, and your life and the path to your future will be better for it.