“Believe in yourself; have faith in your abilities.” ~ General Colin Powell, U.S. Army
Believing in yourself means having confidence in your own abilities.
Always believe in yourself and pursue your dreams – you’re capable of so much more than you realize. Moreover, you are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.
Believing in yourself means being able to trust yourself to do what you say you’ll do and knowing that those efforts will result in the desired outcomes, according to The Berkeley Well-Being Institute.
When you believe in yourself, it kicks into gear all sorts of psychological processes that help you achieve your goals, manifest your dreams, and increase your well-being, explained Tchiki Davis, Ph.D., Founder, The Berkeley Well-Being Institute.
https://twitter.com/ezhil2023/status/1658366560267042816?s=46&t=mF_tsrQnjgviyl62GYfJjw
But the flip side is also true. Lack of self-confidence or lack of belief in ourselves means we are less likely to act, to change, or to push to make things better. As a result, when we expect to fail, we are actually more likely to fail (Bénabou & Tirole, 2002).
That means that believing in yourself is “like the key that turns the ignition and starts the car. We can’t really go anywhere without it.”
Without the mindset of believing in yourself, you’re blocked because your thoughts, attitudes, and actions aren’t in alignment with your goals. So we either don’t do what you need to do or you sabotage yourself along the way, sometimes in obvious ways and sometimes in ways that are totally unconscious to you, says Dr. Davis.
- Believing in yourself includes aspects like self-worth, self-confidence, self-trust, autonomy, and environmental mastery.
- Self-worth is the sense that you have value as a human being.
- Self-confidence is a positive attitude about your abilities, qualities, and judgment.
- Self-trust is faith that you can rely on yourself.
- Autonomy is feeling able to choose and direct your own behavior.
- Environmental mastery is your belief that your efforts can result in the changes you desire.
These are just a few of the key components involved in believing in yourself, according to Dr. Davis.
To cultivate self-belief, it’s critical to talk back to your inner voice. If you feel like you have no value, tell yourself, “You are a valuable, amazing, person who deserves to live a good life.” Or, if you don’t feel confident, remind yourself of your good qualities and skills (more on this below).
Positive self-talk like this has been shown to improve your performance (Tod, Hardy, & Oliver, 2011). By saying positive things to yourself, you can start to rewrite your internal scripts. You can slowly but surely start to develop new scripts in your minds that are a bit more like cheerleaders and a bit less like jerks. And this helps you shift your beliefs.
Believe in yourself, trust yourself, love yourself, and invest in yourself. Your only limit is you and your limiting beliefs.
References:
- Tchiki Davis, “Believe in Yourself: Why It’s Important and How to Do It”, The Berkeley Well-Being Institute. https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/believe-in-yourself.html
- Bénabou, R., & Tirole, J. (2002). Self-confidence and personal motivation. The quarterly journal of economics, 117(3), 871-915.
- Tod, D., Hardy, J., & Oliver, E. (2011). Effects of self-talk: A systematic review. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 33(5), 666-687.