One of the hardest things to do in this life is to believe in yourself. We can cheer on friends, family and loved ones like nobody’s business but why is it so hard to do that for ourselves? Belief is such a powerful thing that it can either lift us or shatter us. It is what we base our reality on and how we create our lives. It is the blueprint telling the universe what we can receive and deserve and what is out of reach. Beliefs can be extremely powerful and often one of the hardest things to change. And yet it is one of the biggest driving forces in our lives that determine so much. So how can we embrace and enhance this power for ourselves? How can we use it to improve our lives instead of holding us back?
Our belief systems are setup over time and start when we are very young. We learn by experience or by influence of others. We may have things that keep getting re-enforced over and over to us (good or bad) that strengthen certain beliefs we have about ourselves. You may have always been good at sports so it is easy for you to believe you will succeed or win in sports. You could have had loving relationships all your life so you expect and believe that this will continue. But what if you have had negative experiences with either of these examples? It may prevent you from wanting to play sports or avoid relationships if you have always had a back outcome. That is how strong our beliefs are always reminding us of what has happened before and what we believe will likely happen again.
If you have great beliefs about yourself it can be extremely positive and re-affirming. It can help you succeed in life and experience so many positive outcomes. This is because you expect it to happen for you based on experience and your beliefs. It may have always been easy to make friends and be popular so why would you expect anything different? But if you had hard experiences making friends or people not liking you, it is easy to assume any new situation will be the same. So how can you start to challenge these strong beliefs? How can you turn them around to allow for a more positive experience? Most people say just be more positive. Don’t dwell on the negative…well that is easy to say when it doesn’t challenge a very strong belief that you have held most of your life. And that is why it is also so frustrating and most do not see how it can ever change.
But yes, experiences can change. And that is not just me being overly positive! We can challenge our old belief systems and eventually gain new experiences to re-enforce a better outlook. It can be done but it does take some work and can be extremely uncomfortable. Because let’s face it, if it was easy you would have done it a long time ago! Your path to change can start with awareness. Be aware of your thoughts and what storylines you keep telling yourself. I’m not good enough, I’m unlucky in “fill in the blank”, I never succeed. Every time you tell yourself that same old story it just re-enforces your old belief system. Start by being aware of the storylines you tell yourself. Then question these storylines. Does this still apply in my life? Or is it the old programming I tell myself? Do I still feel this way? All of these questions will help you pause and stop the auto thought process of these storylines.
After you have awareness of what you are doing you can start to challenge the old belief system. Try small things to see if you still have the same experiences. Can you push yourself out of your comfort zone to see if things are still the same? What old experiences are you ready to challenge and see if the outcomes are still the same? Can you believe in yourself that you will have a better experience this time? That things can truly change, and you are not doomed to experience the same storylines over and over? Can you be your biggest cheerleader and push yourself to try once more? Start building new experiences and believe you do deserve good things like love, friendships, success, family, happiness, and joy!
Belief is a powerful tool each of us possess. How will you choose to use your belief system? To raise you up and succeed or to sabotage and hold you in place? We all hold this power within us to make the changes we need, to evolve and heal our belief system. Are you ready to let go of the old frustrating storylines you keep telling yourself? Are you ready to start receiving wonderful new things in your life? If so, then use that power to shift your energy and BELIEVE in Yourself!