When you ask many great people how they achieved what they achieved, they’ll tell you that they believed in what they did. What exactly does this mean? And how do you do it? Is it possible to suddenly start believing in what you do? Or is belief reserved for special things—the things that you really love doing? It may surprise you to believe that belief can be developed for many things, as long as there are some beneficial consequences from that thing.
Everything You Do Is Beneficial in Some Way
If you look at everything that you do during the day, you’ll probably find that there are some beneficial results accruing from the things you do. If you spend time working, then you know that you’re going to make money from that which will help you to continue living the way you do. If you spend time working out, that’s likely to help you maintain your health. Spending time with your family helps you in maintaining a good family life. And so on.
We Tend to Focus on the Bad, Not the Good
The fact is that we do many things because we know that the results from those things are good. And yet, we don’t focus on the good results coming from those things. We only focus on the bad. For example, you may not think about how much your health is improving due to exercise. You may only think about how you don’t look like really fit celebrities. And you might beat yourself up about that.
Generating Belief in Yourself and What You Do
The fact is that you’re never going to progress in the things that you do if you keep telling yourself that what you are doing isn’t good enough. You have to believe in what you do. And even if that belief isn’t coming spontaneously from inside you, you have to make an effort to generate it.
Coming Up with Creative Ways to Appreciate Yourself
When it comes to judging ourselves, we are all very harsh. We have to show ourselves some appreciation if we want to keep progressing in our lives. So think about how you could show yourself that appreciation. How about just making a list of things that you do during the day and giving yourself a star (or 2 or 3 stars) for each thing you accomplish? It seems childish, but within each of us, there is an inner child who likes seeing that star and feels more motivated by it.
What You Should and Shouldn’t Do to Develop Belief
You could show your appreciation for yourself in any way you like—with a cup of tea, a hot bath, a healthy and tasty meal, or just a moment to relax and do nothing. Try not to reward yourself with movies and TV shows because most of us watch too much TV already. Instead, come up with a creative way of rewarding yourself and you’ll find your belief in yourself and the things you do increasing by leaps and bounds.
