December 13, 2020
Why the Power of Belief is Crucial to Your Success
After everything that’s happened in 2020, I am so ready to get out my new calendar and prepare for what I hope will be a much better year. Actually, I’m not just hoping. I’m counting on the power of belief to see me through.
Does that sound too much like wishful thinking?
Many years ago, I would have said yes. But now I know that your beliefs have everything to do with your ability to succeed, even in tough times.
Hard times test the power of your beliefs
I think I need to be honest and disclose here that 2020 wasn’t all roses and rainbows for me.
There were moments when I absolutely wallowed in negativity and pessimism. It was hard to hang on to the belief that everything was going to be okay while I was struggling to adapt to pandemic-mandated business restrictions, trying to maintain my productivity while working from home, and fighting with three kids to take their remote schooling seriously.
It not only took a toll on my sanity some days, it also put the beliefs I had about business success and my ability to achieve my goals to the test.
Yes, there were some derailments in my business this year. Events and initiatives that had been in the planning stages for months were postponed or canceled. There were moments of confusion, disappointment, and discouragement. Still, I made it through.
The power of belief as your compass
Thank goodness we’ve finally made it to December! It’s one of my favorite times of the year. In addition to the sparkle of the holidays, I like to think of this month as a special time for reflection and for celebrating the year’s achievements.
End-of-year is the perfect time to look back and, with the insight that perspective brings, consider how effectively you navigated this year’s journey.
Maybe the pandemic created unexpected opportunities that helped you exceed your goals or take your business in a new and better direction. If so, take time to recognize and applaud what you’ve accomplished!
On the other hand, this year has been horrendous for so many people in so many ways. If you’re a business owner and things didn’t go at all as expected, it’s still important to acknowledge the time and effort you invested and what you learned from it. I urge you to celebrate anything that went right or, at best, didn’t go sideways.
If nothing else, pour yourself a glass of bubbly and offer a toast to your tenacity for getting through the most unprecedented and turbulent year in modern history.
Why is this important? Reflecting and giving yourself any reason – big or small – for celebration achieves two things:
First, it creates closure for what may have been a discouraging year. It’s your moment to regroup and set the tone for better times ahead.
Second, when you take time to process the lessons (good and bad) that you’ve learned over the past 12 months, you have more knowledge to create a better roadmap moving forward.
The power of belief and how it will shape your future
Equally important right now is the need to renew your belief that your life and work are – and will continue to be – filled with possibility.
Belief in yourself and your potential to reach your goals matters.
This was something I completely underestimated when I was younger. I also didn’t realize how much damage negative beliefs can cause – and how dramatically your life can change when you choose a more positive outlook.
There really is so much power in our thoughts. The trouble is, it’s so easy to misuse that power.
How exactly do we manage to do that??
The power of belief gone wrong
I don’t make this next request lightly, but stay with me here…
Think of a negative memory from the past – a less-than-faithful boyfriend or girlfriend, getting fired, something hurtful that someone said or did to you. (We all have those horrible moments that stick with us!)
Now, pay attention to how that memory, even if it occurred long ago, makes you feel right now. Most likely you can still vividly recall the pain you felt back when it happened. You may even feel the same emotional or physical distress now, just as you did back then.
What happened to you then may or may not have had any basis in fact or truth, but our beliefs about that moment still have the power to create visceral reactions today.
What and how we think is super-powerful stuff.
When I was younger, I was always too ready to sabotage my dreams. In my head, I would run through the reasons, again and again, why I would fail at starting my own business. The list of reasons was endless – and persistent! As a result, I felt it was pointless to try because I believed I going to fail.
Of course, the next time I got fed up as an employee (again) and that spark of motivation re-ignited my desire to create my own business (again), my negative beliefs would take over and I’d talk myself out of doing anything.
I finally reached a point where I knew I needed to change my thinking. Maybe I had finally accumulated enough life experience to see things differently. Maybe I was just fed up with feeling disappointed in myself yet again. Regardless of the reason, something drove me to take a hard look at what my beliefs were doing to me and why.
How to harness the power of belief
So what’s a woman to do when she’s always got a black cloud hanging over her head?
Here’s what I do…
- I try to pay attention to what I’m thinking at any given moment. If I find myself dwelling on some negative memory, I take specific actions to break the mental loop.
- I move my body. Going for a short walk, preferably outside, works wonders. At the very least, I stand up and stretch. Altering your physical state is one of the best ways to recalibrate your mental state.
- I use the power of music. One of my favorite ways to shift my mindset is to listen to an upbeat song that I love. It’s even better when I can associate that song with a very happy or positive memory.
When I do this, it’s almost impossible to feel bad about anything!
The power of belief is a choice
These steps were hard to do at first. For some reason, dwelling on past injuries and injustices is perversely compulsive. It seems easier to ruminate on the bad things than to focus on the good.
But, really, which is better – obsessing about so-and-so who screwed you over, all while you mindlessly consume a bag of Oreos… or …thinking about something positive that reinforces what is possible to achieve in your life?
When I made the choice to believe that it was possible to start my own business and make it successful, my life started to change for the better.
Yes, 2020 has been unlike anything any of us has been through before. (We’ll probably look back 10 years from now and wonder how we got through it!)
Despite what this year has thrown at us, remember that success is a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you enlist the power of belief about what you can achieve, you’ll work harder, you’ll have more energy to devote to your efforts, and you’ll be more committed to attaining the outcome you want.
Only you get to decide whether you want to embrace limiting or limitless beliefs for your future.
Which will you choose?
Do you have questions about how you can succeed in your business and accelerate your journey toward reaching your goals? I invite you to learn more about From Startup to Success coaching packages. Begin with a no-cost 30-minute consultation to discuss where you are with your business and where you want to go.
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