So Iām guessing that all of us have, at one point or another, lost faith in ourselves. Faith in our abilities. Faith in ever finishing. Faith in the process of getting where we want to go. Faith in the journey along the way. If you find yourself in that unenviable position, here are a few ways to help yourself:
1. To not lose faith in yourself, befriend yourself
Youāre already the best friend youāll ever have. Now itās time to act like it. You know best what you most need at any given moment.
Do you need encouragement? Speak strength to yourself. Do you need a kind kick in the pants? Promise yourself a reward you really want when you finish what you started, and then most importantly give it to yourself. Do you need time, money, support, supplies, etc.? Whatever it is, thereās a way to get it (yes, there is, even if you have to get a bit creative about it), and so you need to find that way and get yourself what it is you need.
Or do you need to believe in your own worth and value? Do you need to believe that you matter and what you do matters? Do you need to believe that you have gifts and talents to both fulfill yourself and offer the world? Then tell yourself that you do believe those things, over and over, (better yet, say that to yourself while looking in a mirror) until itās the story you believe and so live out in your life.
The most important thing in this step: to have your own back always.
2.Ā To not lose faith in yourself, write a letter to yourself from your tenacity and recognize your successes
- Start it with: Dear YOUR NAME.
- End it with: Always Believing in You, Your Tenacity.
- In the middle, fill it with:
- kind words about your gifts and talents.
- all the times you wanted to give up and didnāt.
- every time you saw a thing through.
- every time you were stronger than you thought yourself capable of.
- every victory and success no matter how big or small.
The most important thing in this step: to remind yourself that you have it in you to finish what you started.
3. To not lose faith in yourself, check your motivation
Answer these:
- Who are doing it (whatever it is) for?
- Why are you doing it?
- Will completing it make you feel like youāve succeeded and/or are having a successful life?
Make sure what youāre doing deeply matters to you. If it does, thatās reason enough to keep doing it. And if it doesnāt, thatās reason enough to stop. Youāll strengthen your faith in yourself if you choose to be motivated by personal satisfaction instead of what others want for you and/or what you may (or may not) gain.
The most important thing in this step: define success for yourself.
4.Ā To not lose faith in yourself, forgive yourself for your mistakes and failures
Mistakes are inevitable as long as youāre still breathing. Letting those mistakes defeat you, however, is always (always, always) optional. Failure is also inevitable at some point as long as youāre still attempting to grow and move forward in your life. Letting failure derail you is also always (always, always) optional.
You get to choose whether you believe that youāre just licked, so you quit, or youāre just learning, so you try again. You always get to choose whether to give up or to give yourself another shot to come at it again, whatever it is, from a more intelligent perspective.
The most important thing in this step: know that how you respond to mistakes and failures is a choice thatās squarely up to you.
5.Ā To not lose faith in yourself, carry on
You simply persevere. You keep taking action one (tiny, if need be) step at a time. You keep your blinders on, stop looking at the obstacles and the reasons why not, and you follow the path you want to be on.
It truly doesnāt matter how slowly you go as long as you keep moving forward in the direction you want to go. Even if you donāt think you can take another stepāitās too hard/time-consuming/expensive/risky/insert-your-reason-here and/or youāre too scared/overwhelmed/confused/lost/insert-your-dilemma-hereātake another step anyway. And the one after that. And the one after that.
The most important thing in this step: you must refuse to give up on yourself, and in doing so, youāll prove to yourself just how capable you really are.
So what will you do to not lose faith in yourself?
**If youād like a FREE high-resolution copy of the image above, suitable for printing, simplyĀ click here.**