Why do so many of us lack belief in ourselves? How can we solve this problem and start discovering the huge power that belief in ourselves brings?
Millions of people do not believe in themselves enough to achieve their dreams or goals. They give up far too soon or they even give up when the goal is in their grasp.
I teach a martial art which encourages students to work hard and consistently to achieve their black belt. Some students drop out after two or three months but amazingly a few drop out when they are one grade away from their black belt.
I can only guess that some of these students do not believe that they deserve their black belt or they do not believe that they have the ability to pass the grading exam.
Some one has told them at some point in their lives that they are a pushover or a weakling or a lazy good-for-nothing. They believed that person and the belief lodged deep in their subconscious mind. This negative view of themselves was enough to stop them even attempting to take the black belt test.
Believing that we do not deserve success or lack the necessary ability can stop us even trying. It can paralyse us so much that even the smallest effort seems a waste of time.
One quick solution is to try anyway and not worry about the results. When I took my black belt test in Taekwondo, I did not believe that I deserved to succeed but I thought I would take the test anyway and see what happened.
Even if I had failed the test I could at least have felt the satisfaction of having given it a go. The real success lay in being willing to risk the possibility of failure.
A few years ago I went to the Tony Robbins' fire walk seminar held in the Arena at London Docklands. I did not believe I would walk unscathed over the hot coals. I took plenty of antiseptic ointment to rub on my blistered feet. I reasoned that as I weighed over eighteen stone, I would sink into the glowing coals and not be able to move my feet out of danger quickly enough!
Tony's pre-fire walk talk did not help too much. He told us how on his first fire walk he did not wash down his feet after the walk to get rid of any hot coals that had attached themselves to his feet. As a result he had a severe burn and when he accidentally bumped his foot against a chair, the pus poured out!
He also casually mentioned that two people had died after doing the firewalk at seminars not run by himself!!
As a result of all this, my belief that I would walk through the fire unscathed was not strong. All the words we were meant to be saying to ourselves as we did the walk went out of my mind. When my time came there was no time to think. I just walked anyway.
Fortunately, the walk was short and the coals were not deep enough to sink in to and two helpers were very quick to wash down my feet at the conclusion of the walk. In the end I did not need the antiseptic ointment. Doing the walk anyway had worked.
A more frightening seminar test was breaking an arrow whose point was lodged in the throat. A board was held tightly against the other end of the arrow and seminar attendees were encouraged to take one step forward boldly and in a state of belief that the arrow would break and not penetrate their throats!
Again, when it was my turn, I did not have any particular belief in my mind (apart from thinking that I was an idiot for doing this) but stepped forward anyway. Mercifully the arrow broke. Belief was not essential; doing it anyway was all that was necessary.
Another solution (apart from going ahead anyway) is to understand why people might have put you down in the past. If someone called you a weakling in the past, they may well have been trying to make themselves feel stronger at your expense. A really strong person will encourage others to become strong.
Someone who is a failure does not like the idea that someone they know will do better than themselves. They will tell you that you are wasting your time if you try to improve yourself.
I remember being called a big head at school when I moved up a form into a class where everyone was one year older than me. Some of the class could not bear to think that someone was doing better than they were. As a result of the criticism I stopped working hard for a couple of years and was fortunate to pass the exams.
Of course, the class might really have thought that I did have a big head both physically and mentally! When I reread this article it does come across as bigheaded! This, hopefully, is not my intention; I am just drawing from my own experiences rather than someone else's.
Another solution to the problem of lack of belief is to repeat a positive belief at speed so that doubts do not have a chance to take hold. Dave O'Connor of Educo has a series of exercises which develop this kind of instant belief.
Try this one. Stand with your eyes shut and your hands down by your sides. Start saying at speed something like this: "My right arm is attached to a helium balloon. The balloon is rising into the air pulling my arm upwards with it. My arm is going up, up, up, higher and higher, up, up, up. The more I resist, the higher it goes. Higher and higher, up, up etc."
See what happens! Usually at Dave's seminars, most people's hands do go up. There is always someone, however, who is thinking thoughts like: "This is silly. The man's gone mad!" The hands of such people stay down! Too many doubts have been allowed to nest in their minds.
Once you get good at controlling your thoughts and beliefs through exercises like the one above, you can apply the power of belief to every activity in your life and start creating miracles. You can learn to shut out the negative thoughts and focus on the positive ones.
So then, go ahead anyway even if you lack belief in yourself. The belief will come after you have acted and seen the results. Realise that many people don't like to see the success of others. They will try to make you think you are a fool if you try anything ambitious. Finally, think and move fast so that doubts have no time take root in your mind.
Alexander the Great, led his men into battle without letting them rest before the battle. He did not give time for doubts and fears to nest in their minds. So go ahead anyway. Ignore the critics and get a move on!
John Watson has taught London teenagers religious studies and life skills for 33 years. He still teaches a martial art and is highly interested in what motivates people to achieve success. John has a license to sell one of the best books on belief and success ever written ? The Midas Method - by Stuart Goldsmith (the multimillionaire). He has also written two books about achieving your aims in life. Check out http://www.motivationtoday.com
About six years ago I began to study tai chi.... Read More
"One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key... Read More
A few weeks ago I took my boy on a... Read More
Success is creating what you want the way you want... Read More
Picture this scene: Little Johnny's mother places a large piece... Read More
Everything you will ever have and accomplish in life will... Read More
Everything we have in life is because of the help... Read More
Fear.Everything in this world has its opposite.Good has bad.Optimism has... Read More
Do you remember when you were a child and no... Read More
One the most important Self Improvement skills to develop to... Read More
Three key words to remember: weigh, count and measure. Now,... Read More
McDonald's does it, why shouldn't you? Life is filled with... Read More
An unexamined life is not worth living ? SocratesAll too... Read More
No matter what goals and dreams you desire, there's a... Read More
What do you need to do to be successful? If... Read More
Most people want to be successful in life. But success... Read More
Nicholas Darvas, escaping his war-torn homeland, Hungary, sought refuge in... Read More
Taking action is the strongest way to create success in... Read More
With the end of the year fast approaching, now is... Read More
Two weeks ago we took a look at the power... Read More
Wow, what an outrageous claim! Why do I say this?... Read More
I was talking about my business to a stranger the... Read More
I call the following seven belief lies of success, taking... Read More
* Perfectionism is a time waster.Strive for excellence on important... Read More
Material or physical success is often measured by the level... Read More
If we eat too much at home, the public eventually... Read More
Personal power is an INSIDE JOB. It doesn't mean getting... Read More
Hi, Jim Rohn here. This month we focus on accelerating... Read More
Man is the most advanced being on this earth. We... Read More
Any person who goes through life without experiencing failure is... Read More
What do you need to have for a successful business?... Read More
Napoleon Hill coined the concept of the mastermind alliance in... Read More
1)Failure is normal.Everyone has faced failure. Some people talk about... Read More
Every one of us lives with a ceiling, a belief... Read More
Conditions differ from circumstances. Circumstances are changeable conditions which merely... Read More
I recently was made aware of two comparative statistics that... Read More
Success begins with a personal dream that is bigger than... Read More
Since belief always precedes action, simply changing your beliefs can... Read More
Bank account bare? Bedroom barren? Body running on empty? Buddha... Read More
People say: "One can't help one's thoughts." But one can.... Read More
Create an environment that is so inspiring and nurturing that... Read More
I spoke recently with the owner of a large clothing... Read More
e-Learning is doubling yearly. Classes, e-courses, e-books on how-to and... Read More
Coming up with new dreams and passions can be fun,... Read More
I could labor the idea but then that would only... Read More
The 2004 final of the World's Strongest Man METRx Championship... Read More
"What a week!" you say at the end of a... Read More
Imagine that you are in a dimly-lit room. You don't... Read More
When is the best time to prepare for your success... Read More
Champions expect pain, endure pain, and never complain. ---UnknownAfter so... Read More
(excerpted from the book Seven Strategies for Wealth and Happiness)Wouldn't... Read More
Not so long ago, I impressed the daylights out of... Read More
1. They are hard working. There is no such thing... Read More
How do you define success?According to the Collins dictionary, success... Read More
You have a choice today?You can remain in the same... Read More
We're all adults, and most of us probably like to... Read More
Well, it's that time of the year again. No, I... Read More
Have you ever heard of the "secrets of success"? Many... Read More
How can anyone with the brain of a cockroach make... Read More
Material or physical success is often measured by the level... Read More
Life is not a competition.Not at all. Life itself is... Read More
The fastest way to succeeding in anything, be it online... Read More
Recently, I was asked to write a Top 10 list... Read More
About a month ago, I was hit by a car... Read More
A couple days ago I was listening to a CD... Read More
I am writing this article to cement two key success... Read More
Success |