The ABC's of Life - Believe

Today's The ABC's of Life word is Believe:

“Belief in oneself is the critical first step to opening the doors to success!”

If you do not believe in you, then how do you ever expect anyone else to? You have to believe that you are competent, capable and worthy. You must believe that you can accomplish a goal before you ever set one, otherwise it is just a waste of time.

How many people do you think ever accomplish their goals if they do not believe they can do it? I can answer that; zip zero, nada! Do you think Michael Phelps believes he can win gold medals? I would actually venture to say, he does not just believe he can, he knows he can. But before he got to the point of knowing, he first had to believe.

Here are 10 ways to ensure you believe in yourself:

1. Make sure you have the necessary knowledge/experience to accomplish your goal. If not then do what is necessary to obtain the knowledge/experience you need.

2. Make a list of all the things you have accomplished that relates to what you are trying to achieve and review them constantly.

3. Surround yourself with positive, joyful, supportive people. If you have friends, family, co-workers, etc that are negative and always trying to put you down, run away from them fast! These people will only keep you down with them.

4. Make a list of all the things you have learned from times when you may not have reached a goal. Most of the time we learn more from when we fall short then when we obtain a goal.

5. Use the "I am" exercise that I featured in an earlier blog.

6. Have a positive, can do attitude. If you do not have a positive attitude, see #5 above.

7. Have people that you trust to be honest, give you a list of your best and worst qualities/characteristics. Review the best and work on the worst everyday. You are looking for people you would consider to be mentors and that can give constructive criticism.

8. Work with a mentor or hire a life coach.

9. Recognize that no one is perfect. We all have things we need to work on, challenges we face and obstacles to overcome.

10. Take time to celebrate both the big and little victories in life. When we take time to recognize our achievements, we reinforce the good thoughts we have about ourselves and that helps to develop an even deeper belief in ourselves.

Believing in oneself is not a selfish act, it is necessary to achieve anything in life. You do not have to be conceited to believe in yourself. In fact, most people that I know that have a strong sense of self-worth are some of the most humble people that I know.

Believing in oneself also fits right in with the rules of the law of attraction. What we believe will expand, what we resist will persist. If you believe in yourself, your product/service and/or your abilities, you will attract those people that will believe in you and the circumstances where you can shine, which will continue to reinforce those very beliefs.

Now, go out there and believe! Then one day very soon, just like Phelps, you will not only believe, you will know! And when you reach that level of knowing, you will be practically unstoppable.

May you be blessed always and in all ways!