Do you Believe in Yourself?

Did you ever set a goal for yourself and accomplish it? How did it make you feel? Were you ecstatic? Did you feel like you were on top of the world? Sure you did. You set out to accomplish something and you did it.  No matter how small or large the task, we take pride in our achievements. So, what is it that you think helped you achieve that goal? Was it skill? Was it Education? Sure those skills were involved, but I believe it was something bigger than that. You believed in yourself!

I’m willing to bet that if you were to think about the last accomplishment you had, chances are the reason you were successful was because you believed in yourself. You believed, without a shadow of a doubt, that you would meet that goal. 

When I enlisted in to the Army many years ago, I had made the decision that there were several things I wanted to accomplish in those 4 years. The first, to have a nice leather jacket with patches sewn on from all the different places my military career took me and the units I was assigned too. I had seen many people get a nice down jacket made that way, but for quite the pretty penny. I wanted the same, but in leather, and more affordable. Sure enough after about 6 months, I did and still have it to this day. The second was to score 100% on my Physical Fitness test. Well, I didn't quite get there, but I came pretty darn close.  At my prime, I scored a 94% on my run, 100% on my sit ups, and 85% on my push-ups. Did I fail? No. I still received results. They may not have been the ones I wanted, but I knew what I would have to work on to get there.  Finally, I wanted to achieve the rank of Sergeant before my 4 years was up. I knew this would take training, determination, and consistency. Within 3 years I was promoted to Sergeant. I started at the very bottom as a private. For those of you unfamiliar, when you start at the bottom, you are an E-1/Private. Sergeant is an E-5. So five ranks I made in 3 years. How did I accomplish these goals? I believed I could. No one was going to tell me that I couldn't do any of those things. There are several other accomplishments I have had over the years since then.  I lost weight, regained my fitness I had lost due to changes in my career path, and became the second person in my family to earn a college degree. All because I believed I could.

Now, you are probably asking yourself why I am sharing this with you. Have you found yourself struggling to meet a certain goal? Does it feel like the whole world is against you? Maybe, just maybe, you are doubting yourself. I want you to change your mindset. I want you to truly believe in yourself.  Whether your goal is to be financially secure, go back to school, lose weight, eat better, exercise more, be more involved with your community, or start your own business, one thing is for sure. You have to believe in yourself.  More importantly, you cannot let anyone, and I mean anyone, tell you, you can’t do it.  There are going to be people in your life that will not believe you can do what you set out to do. It’s practically unavoidable. You have to make the choice to believe in yourself and your abilities, and hold true to that. You may even have to distance yourself from those negative influences. I know, easier said than done. But, once you have done that, then seek out the tools and support you need to accomplish your goals and get to work. Is it going to be easy? Who knows! Some of it might. Some of it may take a little extra effort. The bottom line is, if you BELIEVE in yourself you can accomplish everything you set out to do!