“Don’t downgrade your dreams to match your reality. Upgrade your belief to match your vision.”
-Unknown
Have you ever heard of the phrase, “Dreams do come true if you have the courage to pursue them?” When you hear of that phrase, what does it make you think of? How does it make you feel? Does it make you optimistic about the future?
I remember growing up I would always hear that phrase, and I truly believed it. It gave me an excitement about the possibilities of the future. It challenged me to dream big and without limits. Those were the younger days when having childlike faith and belief in myself came easy. I noticed that as I got older, life’s experiences challenged that faith and belief in myself.
As life started teaching me hard lessons fear came easy. Then the doubt began to creep in and eliminate that strong belief I once had in myself. Those forces together changed the narrative and prompted me to ask the questions, “Where is that belief you once had?” “What happened?” Maybe there are many reasons why my belief in myself changed, but I knew if I wanted to get it back I would have to fight for it. As I grew older I noticed how so many things have a way of shaping what you believe about yourself and it’s important to guard and speak life over yourself.
One thing life has taught me is that what you believe is what you will see happen in your life. Your belief triggers your actions. If you believe a certain thing is possible you will begin to implement the actions and develop the habits that will help you to achieve a certain thing. I remember before I started my health journey, losing weight and changing my whole lifestyle seemed impossible. I wasn’t accustomed to eating healthy and it all just seemed like a lot of work if I could completely be honest. I didn’t really believe that change was possible so I didn’t put in the work to achieve the goal.
When I finally got to the place where I got tired of the way things were and always feeling tired and just really wanted better for myself I started to change that way I looked at the journey towards health. I told myself if I just focused on taking things one step at a time maybe it would be possible. Then I reminded myself that its a marathon and not a sprint. I also reminded myself of all the things I accomplished over the years that seemed impossible, but was made possible when I truly believe and changed the way I thought about the goal.
Once I started to truly believe I could change my life, I did. I took baby steps. There were moments where I messed up and days that were hard to push through but I still believed that it would be possible if I kept going. Fast forward to where I am now, I am crushing these health goals one step at a time. It took a long time to develop the right habits and change the way I thought about health. This is not just a goal for me but it’s a lifestyle. Last year I crushed my goal and now I am moving forward with my next goal which involves me getting stronger. I am determined to work at it everyday with tracking what I eat and staying consistent with exercising. This process of believing in myself didn’t happen overnight I truly had to change my thinking and focus on taking things one step at a time. Now that I have seen results my belief in this process and myself is through the roof. These are three things this process has taught me about believing in myself:
1.) Believing in yourself takes courage
Getting to the place where you truly believe in yourself will require you fighting against the doubt, fear and unbelief that life experiences has taught you. That takes a lot of courage.
2.) Believing in yourself requires a mindset shift
You will have to change the way you view challenges and remind yourself that you are capable if you take it one step at a time. Reflect on the things that you accomplished in the past that required you to believe in yourself.
3.) Believing in yourself requires focus and hard work
“Belief triggers the power to do.” What you believe will manifest in your actions. In order for my belief to become a reality I needed to put in the work and do whatever it takes to keep myself focused and on track. “Dreams don’t work unless you do”
The dreams that you have are possible to reach, but the belief you have in yourself and the work you put in plays a critical part in being able to achieve those dreams. Everything starts with a belief. “Believe you can and you will.” I hope that this encourages you to continue to fight for your future and your dreams. Don’t give up just because you haven’t seen results yet, change the way you think about the goal, fight to reach it and put in the work to achieve it. Thanks so much for reading!
What’s something you have learned from believing in yourself? Which point encourages you the most? Comment below.
Intentional Hope 