How to Believe in Yourself

{original image by kelly rae}

Today I read "What I Wish I Knew at 21" which was written by Oprah and I could relate to it. Self-doubt has always been something that haunts me from time to time. For a very long time I didn't believe in myself until I had no other choice. There is no way a person can move on with life and be successful in what they aim to achieve if they didn't believe in themselves and the fact that they were put on Earth for a very good reason. 

Believing in yourself is... knowing and accepting that there are things you are good at and not so good at. 

When you're good at something acknowledge it, be grateful for it and use it in a positive way. When you're not good at something accept that there are things you have to work at. No one was created perfect. I have many weaknesses and one of them is that I'm not very patient as in I expect things to turn out the way I want them to. But I think that's why God throws trials my way so I learn to be patient and work on increasing my iman (faith) and trust in Him. 

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whenever Allah wills good for a person, He subjects him to adversity." {Bukhari}

Also remember that it's okay to make mistakes and to fail even though you tried your best. Life isn't about consistently getting things right. It's about consistently trying with all your might. 

Believing in yourself is... trusting your instincts. 

Yes, you have them and the trick is to trust them. I'm honestly terrible at this! I'm learning to be better though. I can't explain what instincts and intuitions are like. Some things you just know. Sometimes it's a natural inclination and other times it's a judgement you make due to past experiences and what you've learned from them.

Believing in yourself is... being open-minded and open-hearted enough to expect the unexpected.

Life will throw you off track once in a while and it is full of surprises - good and bad ones. To get through them you need to open up your mind and heart to new experiences and challenges. To not completely know what's coming ahead is part of life and you will be blind-sighted every now and then. Every mistake, failure, loss, heartbreak or betrayal is a lesson learned and an opportunity to start over, discover positive things you never knew about yourself and welcome new people and adventures into your life.

Believing in yourself is... believing that you deserve good in your life.

We work to generate the results we think we deserve. It's as simple as that. Of course, things don't always work out the way we want them to. No matter how hard we try some things are just not written for us and this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Be positive and think of other ways it could work out for you but remember there will be times when you have to let go of your ideas of what is good for you because you can't possibly always know what they are. Our knowledge is limited to the experiences we've had in life and no one can say they've done everything to understand and know absolutely everything.

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” ~ Helen Keller

Believing in yourself is... a result of believing in a Higher Power. 

It's very important to understand our position in this world and the difference between what is within and what is beyond our control. Peace enters my heart and mind whenever I'm reminded that much of life is beyond our comprehension and control. All we have to do is make the right choices (or trust that we have made the right choices) and then have faith that He will take care of things for us. We try to know, do and be everything, stressing ourselves out so much along the way, when there's a lot of peace to be found in trusting God and knowing that you've done your part and you can leave the rest to Him.


Recommended reads:
What I Wish I Knew at 21
How To Believe in Yourself in the Face of Overwhelming Self-Doubt