How to Believe in Yourself and Achieve Greatness

Behind every successful man or woman is the tremendous power of belief – belief in one’s own powers, gifts, talents and capabilities. You simply have to believe that you can achieve excellence and abundance. You need to believe that you are worth greatness. You need to believe that you can overcome challenges and transform trials into trophies.

Most people are lacking in this and thus they are terribly mediocre. It is impossible to achieve without believing. The first hurdle you need to overcome is the sad conviction that you are incapable of achieving greatness and reaching great heights.

I will take my time to share with you some means you can utilize to overcome this horrendous disease. There is probably nothing really new yet what I shall describe is worth your every minute to read, to internalize and to practice permanently and irrevocably.

Transcend other people’s rating of you

I believe we have all met two particular kinds of people; the first is the optimist, one who sets the earth on fire with their positivity and full-of-life attitude. The other is the pessimist, one who sees nothing but failure and negativity in you. Spending time with the optimist gives you the rare feeling that all things are possible and that you can conquer any hurdle. You simply believe that all is possible. Whereas spending time with the pessimist drains you of your courage and self-esteem. You begin to believe that all is doom and gloom.

It is absolutely important for you to transcend and go beyond the ordinary criticism which people make of you. Especially because they are ignorant of the art of healthy criticism; they demoralize rather than correct. Do not let opinions define who you are. A single mistake does not mean that you are good for nothing or entirely useless.

Rather than merely become a victim of opinions, examine yourself and see if you believe in yourself. If you do not believe that you can achieve anything worthwhile, it is probably because you have been in discouraging environments and your ears have been victims of unpromising remarks. Cease to be a victim no longer.

Know your strengths and weakness

Another very common phenomenon is the fact that you might be sticking to one or two things which people have told you – “he is not a good boy”, “she is good for nothing”, “she will not amount to anything.”  In order to overcome the power of this negative talk it is absolutely necessary that you undertake an inventory of all your strengths (even the small and insignificant ones) and your weaknesses.   Write them down in your special book. Write down all the things you know about yourself, write down all the things other people have said about you. It is my definite confidence that when you analyse the list, you will see more positive aspects than the negative ones. Whatever the outcome, be grateful!

The importance aspect of this exercise is the fact that you will know that irrespective of your weaknesses, you also have magnificent strengths of which you can boast. This activity of self-knowledge is one that is fulfilled only by the humble and those who are willing to learn from others. You can even enlist the services of a good and positive psychologist or the help of a friend.

Listen to positive and uplifting words and messages

Another important scheme of harnessing the power of faith: is the habit of listening to positive messages and inspiring stories. “If it happened to them, why not you?” It is a very important means by which one can develop positive mindset and eliminate negative attitude and messages from one’s psyche.

There is absolutely no point in believing and only listening to the sad stories of failure and gloom and hope to be a great believer in the power of success. You probably have enough worries about studies, career, family, sponsorship/scholarship and the future. The day to day life is almost always spenT in some challenges to be overcome. If it is not properly overcome it will lead to worry.  Such excessive worry will simply make you irritable, ill-tempered and negative.

Take the time to listen to something inspiration. This of course does not imply that I am advocating for a naïve realism which only believes in unicorns and ‘happily ever after.’ By no means! This whole reflection refers to the fact that you can learn a lot from the stories of other like-natured human beings. I have greatly benefitted from the powerful stories of individuals like Oprah, the positive psychology of Brene Brown and the numerous inspirational stories and Ted Talks of various other human beings who have been where I am and have managed to overcome. Is there a better way to tap into the collective power of mankind to be tranquil and perseverant in the face of the greatest turmoil and hardship?

You are simply great! Not greater than…

You are probably so convinced about your ‘sorry state’ for the reason that you measure your greatness in relation to others. You think that you are not worth much because you are not like them. You are a unique and special individual who is a standard of greatness in his or her own right.

Brian Tracy has put this idea so well:

"The depth of your belief and the strength of your conviction determines the power of your personality."

Comparison with others will never reap fruits of greatness, abundance or fullness only disappointment and dissatisfaction because you can never be anyone else. Do not compare yourself to others!

You don’t always have to fit into every group

Flexibility is surely a great skill; one worth having. It enables you to adjust and fit into new situations and circumstances. It is a great tool for problem solving and critical thinking. It is also greatly appreciated in social situations. It is a tool for creativity and spontaneity.

However, it also has its downside especially when it leads to having ‘no face behind a continuous façade of masks.’ It is a great danger to engage with individuals whose only principle is ‘have no principle’ simply in order for them to fit into a social group. This sort of flexibility is even at the very cost of one’s identity. I have come to know some individuals who believe in playacting to be pleasing just so as to avoid being offensive, critical or simply different just so that they may fit in.

Sometimes the greatest battle we should fight is the one of having the courage to stand in our own two shoes and stick to your own deeply held principles even at the cost of losing acquaintances. One should not fret at the prospect of being displeasing at times.  This ‘pretense’ trick is simply a way we act in order to present a particular version of who we are. Nevertheless, it is simply a denial of who we are at the very core of our being. We suppress our real opinions because they seem unacceptable or at least would lack approval. We thus think that the only way to get along (or even to survive) is by behaving in ways that are acceptable to others. This is a great hindrance to developing the much needed confidence in the inherent powers and abilities of the self.

You need the courage to face your strengths

The greater majority of people believe that it is far much easier to embrace and accept their challenges. However, I think it is equally difficult to embrace our lights, our strengths and our victories. Indeed, it is beautifully said that “our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate but that we are powerful beyond measure; it is our light not our shadow that most frightens us.”

A greater part of believing in myself is in believing that I am gifted and blessed with great gifts and talents and that I can embrace and be thankful for them. I should believe that accepting and embracing my ‘lights’ is not only beneficial to a single individual but to all those who rely on you for motivation and willpower.

It is absolutely important to own and possess my life; my words, my actions, and my feelings. I have to grasp the fact that my weaknesses need love; I ought to love the self I am trying to know. I must be cordial, open and sympathetic to myself. This is a great tool to become a believer in my own strengths.

The the rare courage to dare to be kind to oneself is of a rare nature

Seek Meaningful experiences

The greatest and first things of life are not the fame, the cars, the money etc but rather to discover and live what is most important and meaningful in one’s own life. It is of paramount importance for each and every one to place and centre all of one’s energy and time. It is absolutely important to ask oneself whether the daily efforts of one’s life are directed to the first things (the top priority) things: love or family…. Etc

I never tire of sharing these simple thoughts, they are not new, they are not original but they are from my heart. If they make a difference in the lives of even one individual human being, then it is pricelessly worth it! Thus, I will do this again and again.

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