Today is day five of World WellBeing Week and our focus today is belief.
New mind set = new results. Long-term research shows that our personal, social, and cultural beliefs are at least two thirds responsible for our health, longevity and wellbeing. Your beliefs affect your thinking and your thinking affects your mood, which is why our fifth driver of wellbeing is belief, tenacity, perseverance, desire, resolve, and persistence.
We also include self-confidence to achieve one’s goals, and the ability to accept and adapt to change and to bounce back from any adversity. Today is a fresh start to believe in yourself and your ability to achieve everything you think you can achieve for you, your loved ones and those you care for, personally and professionally.
It is easy to lose one’s way, especially when we have endured the challenges and setbacks of recent months, people easily lose faith in themselves and their abilities. Have belief in yourself and if you’re fully committed to something you will do what is needed.
You are resourceful, don’t let fear stop you. 92% of people don’t achieve their goals due to fear of failure, disappointment, embarrassment, being judged or ridiculed. Remember that fear stands for False Evidence that Appears Real. March on with a positive attitude.
“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right” ~ Henry Ford
When going through tough times it is important to remember the good times, your past successes. Not to dwell on what has gone and is now missing but to believe you can do it again. Think about the great things you used to do – you can do them again. Reawaken your passion and drive for what matters to you.
Be thankful for what you do have in the world, the more thankful you are, the more you will have to be thankful for. Believe you are just as deserving as the next person.
Motivation can be broken down into three parts:
- Purpose – A clear picture of what you want
- Enablers – Ways to take small steps towards what you want
- Acknowledgement – The support you need to achieve your goals
Here are some ideas which may help:
- To re-start the process, find your ‘why’, your ‘flow’. When you are in flow, in true alignment with your beliefs, nothing can stop you. Seriously consider:
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- What is important to you?
- What are the things that bring you the most joy in life?
- What is it about those situations, or occasions, that you love?
- What makes you happy?
- When do you feel the most contented, and in flow?
- Imagine you have achieved your goal, how does it feel?
Get really clear on who you want to be. If you were not afraid of failure, what would you do? This is the first step to regaining self-belief. So give yourself some time and space to think of all the things you would like to achieve, if there were no obstacles in the way.
- Then affirm your ideas. Self-affirmations are an effective way to reinforce your belief. See yourself as a global speaker on a world stage or the future CEO if that’s what you want to be; act and speak like one. Say to yourself: I am strong. I am important. I am free of worry and regret. I am proud of myself. I deserve good things in my life.
- Take good care of yourself, mind, body and spirit. Looking after yourself helps you gain confidence and goes a long way to physical, mental and emotional health. It is fundamental to success. Your health is your wealth, your hidden power, use it well.
- Facing and conquering your fears is a truly effective way to reinforce self-esteem. Decide what it is that you fear the most and do it. Do not be afraid, just put your best foot forward, self-doubt will flee.
- Believe that others want you to succeed. If you hear your inner critic telling you otherwise, remember all of the reasons why you ARE qualified to achieve your goal. Do this repeatedly and your self-belief will become stronger.
- Remember to prepare. Having a solid belief in your ability to win is one thing, although you will need to prepare to win too. Acquire any new skills you need, practice your pitch, read the minutes, research the person you are meeting, and visualise your success. This will fill you with confidence that in turn will encourage you to put in the extra effort to achieve everything you set your heart on.
- In the same way as gratitude and looking for the good repays you in kind, so encouragement of others will engage the law of reciprocity. Authentic encouragement of others will turn inwards and you will start to feel motivated (Motive for Action) to achieve your own goals.
Life is a roller coaster, there will be ups and downs. The secret is to know how to handle whatever comes your way. IF you don’t immediately achieve what you hoped for, perhaps the interview didn’t go your way, then ask yourself what you have gained. Don’t get annoyed with yourself or beat yourself up, that’s just going to make you feel worse. Instead be brutally honest and ask yourself what you learned from the situation, and move on to the next opportunity.
What if you are procrastinating?
We may not be motivated, but we’re not lazy. It’s a protective mechanism – your brain doesn’t want you to have the emotional pain or discomfort of failing so it keeps you in a safety protected triggered state. This is why the reasons to DO something need to be BIGGER than why we shouldn’t, couldn’t and don’t want to. And so we are back to our why. It’s a really important thing to be clear on.
Know what you want and give yourself a cast iron reason to do it.
Our brains love consistency, which is why whatever we focus on we will achieve. Once we are able to build new neural pathways in our brain to help us in creating new habits, we will be well on our way to feeling more confident about achieving our goals.
You are worth it, and we hope you know it!
Click here to find out more about World Wellbeing Week and click here to catch-up with the Wellbeing Week series.
