Are you having a hard time BELIEVING in yourself? Proven strategies for you!

Believe in yourself, and the rest will fall into place. Have faith in your own abilities, work hard and there is nothing you cannot accomplish. - Brad Henry 

You’ve been on my heart and mind this weekend. In coaching my clients a theme that’s come up is their lack of belief in themselves. With that said, this has inspired me to share a few proven strategies that’ll support you on your journey. 

Quick Story…

There was a time in my life when lack of belief in myself was a big factor in my life. I didn’t pursue my dream career, or start my own business, because I didn’t believe I could. I struggled with creating habits that support my vision because I didn’t believe I had the discipline. Can you relate? 

Believing in yourself and having confidence go hand in hand. 

Merriam Webster defines the term confidence as “a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something.” Let’s break this definition apart.

• “A feeling” – an emotional state.
• Or belief” – something that you accept as true.
• “That you” – these feelings and what you accept as true are happening inside of you.
• “Can do something well or succeed at something” – whatever it it that you’re doing or thinking about doing, you can do it well. Notice that it says “something”, it doesn’t say everything. 

This means that how well you think you can or can’t do something is true, at least inside of you. It doesn’t say anything about external or tangible items. 

I want you to really examine everything that you’ve created and have in your life. You’ll see that they are a result of your belief in yourself and the belief that it was possible. You manifested those results. 

Do you hear these voices in your head that say: "I’m not good enough.”; "I’m not smart enough.”; "I don’t have the confidence.”; “I don’t have the skills to do…”; “I’m not worthy of having…", etc. 

You’re NOT alone! 

Here are a 12 proven strategies that’ll help YOU with building your confidence, worthiness, and belief in yourself. These are not all encompassing. 

1. Believe It - I know it’s easier said than done. Believing in yourself no matter where you are in life and no matter what other people say to you. There’s so much power in believing that it is possible. When you shift from limiting beliefs and conversations to possibility your whole world will alter. You have a choice. Ask yourself: Is what I want possible? Has someone else achieved it? If the answer is YES, then if they can do it YOU CAN TOO!! If the answer is NO then you get to be the pioneer and prove that it is possible. Remember that the airplane was created even though people didn’t believe it was possible. The Wright Brothers believed in the possibility of flying around the world and look where we are now. Thanks to them we are all reaping the benefits of their belief in what was possible. That could be YOU! I believe in you! 
2. Your Accomplishment List/Transferable Skills  - Write out a list of all your accomplishments. This will help you begin to believe in yourself. Include the things that come naturally to you, the things that you’ve excelled at, etc. Make sure to include even the most minor activities. Look at your past and current experience and extract the transferable skills that relate to the career and life you want to create. Do you see any synergies? Correlations? What have you discovered? 
3. Fail Forward - I’ll be vulnerable and honest here for a moment. I really sucked in my theater rehearsals. I’m not kidding you, my rehearsals were bad. Now, I could’ve dwelled on how poor my performance was. However, I chose to look at it as feedback on what was working and what wasn’t. I was also so open and coachable to getting direction. My acting coach believed in me and my abilities when I wasn’t able to see it for myself. Rehearsals were a way for me to fail forward. In life, your rehearsal is when you do something that is outside your comfort zone. It is a growth and learning opportunity. All success stories have had roadblocks and failures along the journey including my own. Practice and repetition will make you feel comfortable and a Pro at what you’re doing. Remember the first time you learned how to ride a bike? Did you NOT fall off the bike many times until you got the hang of it? I know I did. So are you excited and ready to fail forward? :)
4. Act As If - One of the most effective ways to have a successful mindset is to act as if you are already the kind of person who has created the ideal career and life you want to life. Ask yourself: Who do I get to BE in order to create it? How does that person act? Look at the gap between where you are now and where you want to be and bridge that gap. Look at the actions you’ve identified and start taking them now. Life is NOW. This approach will trigger your subconscious mind to find creative ways to achieve your goals. 
5. Nurture Your Nature & Your Positive Views - Earl Nightingale said that if you spend an hour a day to study the field that you have an interest in then you’ll be an expert in 5 years. Isn’t that cool? So the real question you want to ask yourself is: What do I want to be an expert in? :) This is how you’ll create your full time dream future doing it part time starting NOW. How this helps you with believing in yourself is that you’ll focus your time, energy, and attention on what you WANT which will support you in being in possibility by focusing on the positive versus the negative thoughts that swirl in your head. You have a purpose here in life. You also have a core calling. What is your calling? What are you called to BE and create? Focus on that. Use that as your compass and GPS. 
6. Visualize - Imagine yourself in being exactly where you want to be in life. What does your future self look like? What exactly have you created? Imagine that it has already happened an that you’ve already achieved your dream. Be as detailed as possible by including all your senses (feel, taste, sight, sound, etc.). You can create a Vision Board to support you with this. 
7. Affirmations - Create a list of affirmations that affirm what you want to believe and write it 100 times in your journal while connecting with your emotions. Have the affirmations penetrate every part of your being and cells. We are emotional beings and since we’re all storytellers might as well create stories that serve versus sabotage us. An example of an affirmation is: I am the best at (fill in the blank). What affirmation will you be creating? 
8. Be a Finisher - One of the most effective way to build your confidence and belief in yourself is to be in completion energy. In other words, finish what you start. Most people are great starters and poor finishers. I was one of those people and was so overwhelmed. When I started building my finisher muscles I started to believe not only in myself, I believed in my work and the magic I’m creating for others in the world. 
9. Take Action - Don’t be a procrastinator. Make decisions quickly and decisively by following your heart and intuition. Take action towards your goals and don’t let doubt and fear stop you. Nothing happens in life until you take action. Remember to connect with your wins (no matter how small). 
10. Power Pose - Watch your body language. You can feel more powerful in 2 minutes by doing the “Power Pose”. This is the Superman/Wonder Woman pose. 
11. Practice Acceptance/Compassion/Love - Are you judging yourself? Beating yourself up? Being so critical of yourself? Are you being your own punching bag? If so, then I invite you to practice empathy, compassion, love and acceptance. You are perfect, whole, and complete. The moment you accept and surrender the resistance will subside and you’ll be on your way to building your belief system and confidence. 
12. Let Your Coach Help You - Surround Yourself with People who Believe in You before you’re ready to believe in yourself. We all have blind spots and sometimes are unable to see our greatness. A coach can help you recognize your abilities, talents, and skills. They can help you refocus on your goals and remember your past successes. When you’re full of doubt, your coach will believe in you and help you to believe in yourself again. I work with several coaches and I have a coach for different areas that are a focus for me. I wouldn’t be where I am right now in life without the help of my coaches and mentors. I’ve been working with coaches for over a decade. 

“Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.” M. Scott Peck 

I encourage you to give yourself and your dreams a chance and an opportunity. Regret happens when we don’t fulfill what we’re CALLED to do in life. You have a purpose in life and you are GIFT. Believe in yourself and you'll be UNSTOPPABLE. Believe you can and you're half way there. I believe in YOU. <3 

I hope you enjoyed these tips. 

To Your Soul Discoveries!

XOX,

Zina Solomon

Summit Host & Founder of Step Into Your Creativity

P.S. Now it's your turn.  Comment below with what resonated with you the most and which strategy is the most powerful for you. :)