When people don’t believe in you, you have to believe in yourself.

When people don’t believe in you, you have to believe in yourself. – Pierce Brosnan

It takes belief in yourself if you are going to do a fire-walk. And yes, I have. And no, that’s not me in the picture.

What does that mean?
Our belief in ourselves, our ability to get things done, is central to our self worth and key to our ability to remain motivated when times get tough. It’s not uncommon for others to not believe in you, because they don’t know how motivated, how committed, or how much you need to do what they think you can’t do.

However, when the others don’t believe in you, that’s when you most need to believe in yourself. If, when others don’t believe, you don’t believe in yourself either, it’s going to be hard to get very far, right?

By believing in yourself, you don’t need others to believe in you (although it doesn’t hurt to have a few of them on your side). Believing in yourself, especially when others don’t, that can bring an enormous sense of triumph when you manage to accomplish your goals. Doubly so, because it is despite all the people who didn’t think it could be done, or at least not by you.

Why is having high expectations of yourself important?  
Believing in yourself is related to having expectations. If you expect to fail, you don’t really believe in yourself, right? On the other hand, expecting to succeed, even if you make allowances for the possibility of failure, is saying you believe you can do it.

Believing in yourself isn’t always easy, but it is crucial to getting things done. If you have low expectations, you will work hard enough to meet them, but then what? How much harder will you work after that? And what does that do to your belief? Do you end up believing that all you can reliably do is that little bit?

Contrast that with having high expectations. Provided they are based on what you can do, you will keep working and getting a lot done each time. Your belief in what you can do is tested each time, and you can adjust it based on each outcome. You become very certain of what you can or cannot do, and regularly prove it to yourself.

Where can I apply this in my life?
Once again, we have a ‘just right’ situation. It’s possible to set your expectations unrealistically high, and end up bitterly disappointed when you don’t achieve them. It’s also possible to set your expectations so low that it takes no effort to achieve them.

Finding the golden mean, the path that’s just right, is a personal journey. It will depend on how much you want to achieve the goal, how hard you are willing to work, how much failure you can handle, and how long you are willing to persevere.

We all have areas where we know we are strong, where we know we can accomplish much. We also have areas where we are not so sure what exactly we can or cannot do. Either because of mixed results, or a change in our abilities since last we did something, we just aren’t sure.

The worst, in my mind, are the things where we are fairly certain we cannot do something, based on something that happened a long time ago, or based on a single attempt. Consider if you might have learned a skill or a method since then that might make it a little more likely to succeed the next time you try.

I would like to make sure we know that there is a difference between what we might be able to do, but are unwilling to attempt, and things that are beyond our limits. We all have limits, and must know them, lest we suffer the fate of Icarus.

I try to reach a little farther than I know I can go, to stretch and push beyond my limits. I understand that at times, my reach will not be sufficient, and things will not go well. But I will learn from the experience, and do better the next time.

I believe that I can do anything I set myself to doing. Often I surprise myself. When I started this blog a year and a few months ago, I figured I’d last a few weeks, maybe a month or two at the most. And somehow I’m still going.

Why is that? As I wrote, I learned. As I learned, my ability increased. As my ability increaced, I was able to do more, and it was both easier and more fun. As I was able to measure my successes, I began to believe that I could do this over the long term.

What do you want to do, that you aren’t certain you can do? Be sure to keep track of what is working and what is not. Constantly update your strategy and tactics, and persevere. If you believe in yourself and your ability to achieve the goal, does it really matter what others believe?

From: Twitter, @psilovequotes
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/piercebros179782.html
Photo by Poetprince

Happy Birthday to Pierce Brosnan, born 16 May, 1953