The Power of Believing in Yourself

If you have a goal in life, or a dream that you would like to see come to pass, the best advice that I can give you is this: Don’t look to others to tell you that you can do it. Rather, believe in yourself. Believing in yourself is the most important factor in achieving any goal.

There is great power in believing in yourself. Frankly, it is the difference between people who achieve great things, and people who live in mediocrity.

Realize that at many points during your journey toward your goal, you will encounter roadblocks that you have to overcome. Those roadblocks may be people who tell you, “You can’t do it.” They may be closed doors or answers of “No” to requests for help. If you don’t believe in yourself, those roadblocks will discourage you and lead you to give up on your dream.

Know that every person who has achieved success has encountered those kinds of roadblocks. But their belief in themselves gave them the determination to overcome every obstacle. Without that belief, they would have given up at the first negative word or problem.

Below are ways to learn how to believe in yourself. Apply them in your own life so that you can achieve your greatest goals and dreams.

Realize That You Have What It Takes

If you feel called to accomplish a goal or to do something important with your life, that is because you are meant to do that very thing. You may consider your calling to come from God or maybe the universe. Regardless of its origin, realize that you have that calling because that is what you are meant to do with your life. And you wouldn’t have that calling if you didn’t have the natural skills to make it happen.

For example, there are certain people who are called to be astronauts. Those folks are blessed with a mind for science, and they don’t mind being in small enclosed spaces. I am not called to be an astronaut! I like watching movies about space exploration, but I have no desire to go into space myself. Not only do I hate being in small spaces, but science was never my best subject!

Instead, I am called to write. Along with that calling, I’ve been blessed with some creative talent and the ability to convey my thoughts through the written word. Now, there are lots of people who don’t enjoy writing. Spending their days writing articles, like I do, would not be their cup of tea. But writing isn’t their calling.

So, realize that you have what it takes to achieve your dreams. You would not feel a calling to pursue a certain goal if you didn’t have the natural abilities to do it. So, believe in yourself, and know that your calling is a sign that you have precisely what it takes to accomplish your goals.

Believing in Yourself Means Ignoring the Naysayers

Often, when pursuing our goals, instead of believing in ourselves, we make the mistake of looking to others for permission to pursue our goals. The problem is that very few people are going to say to you, “Go for it! You are smart and talented, and you have what it takes to make that outlandish dream come true!”

Rather, if you go to other people for encouragement, typically they’ll say, “Well, that’s a real long shot. Very few people can do that. Maybe you should aim for something more realistic.” The problem is that realistic people accomplish average things. It’s only the dreamers who accomplish great things.

As a result, in order to accomplish anything meaningful, you have to ignore the well-meaning advice of others. And you have to ignore your statistical likelihood for success. Instead, you have to have faith in yourself, and just go for it.

Consider how many successful people have stories of being told that they wouldn’t succeed. Oprah Winfrey was told early in her career that she was “unfit for television.” Stephen King’s famous book Carrie initially was rejected by 30 publishers, and he was told that “negative utopias” don’t sell. In one of Fred Astaire’s first screen tests, an executive wrote, “Can’t sing. Can’t act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little.”

All those comments sound rather silly now. But those negative comments could have halted those individuals’ careers – if they had listened to them. Highly successful people simply ignore the negative feedback. Instead, they believe in themselves and pursue their dreams.

People Who Believe in Themselves Are Tenacious

When you believe in yourself, you pursue your dreams with tenacity. Tenacity is defined as the quality of being very determined. It means that no matter how many obstacles you encounter, you still are going to pursue your dream.

Tenacity means that if your friends and family tell you that you don’t have the skills to become an engineer, you still will apply to as many engineering schools as possible until one lets you in. If you are tenacious, then if your goal is to teach art, you will apply to every school in the country that is advertising for an art teacher, and you will move to the one place that offers you a job.

Tenacious people don’t need to follow a straight line to achieve their dreams. They may take off some years to raise their children. But they never forget their dream. A tenacious person may work at a fulltime job. But in the evenings, he or she spends their free time working on their dream. A tenacious person may have no money, no education, and no support. But what they do have is a belief in their own abilities and a solid work ethic. And let me tell you, believing in yourself combined with a strong work ethic is the best recipe for success. (To read about how to develop your focus and self-discipline, click here.)

Do you have a dream that you’ve put on hold or have forgotten? This week, revive that dream. Start believing in yourself. Ignore the naysayers. Realize that you have what it takes. And today, take that first step toward making your dream come to pass. (To read more about learning to believe in yourself, click here.)