If I Believe in Myself, I'll Never Stop Growing
When I believe in myself, I make better decisions. When I believe in my experience and remember my values and needs, I awaken strengths that set me on my way. This allows me to grow and move forward by building the reality I want. Only then can I overcome obstacles, take the weight off my shoulders, and leave behind the things that hurt me and focusing on the good things to come.
This may seem easy when you read it. You probably love how it sounds. After all, the field of personal growth and development states that the first commandment is to learn to believe in yourself. However, even though many people have read countless articles on the subject, some haven’t been able to apply it to their own lives.
Lack of trust and self-appreciation lie behind many mood disorders. This affects self-esteem and allows the mind to be dominated by a limiting and critical internal dialogue.
The reality is that you don’t stop believing in yourself from one day to the next. It’s a process that takes years or even decades. In fact, during childhood and adolescence, people begin to accept a series of negative thoughts or self-affirmations.
“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.”
-J.M. Barrie-
The path to growth requires an internal transformation
Abraham Maslow, one of the most prominent psychologists of the 20th century, said that people have two choices in life. The first, to choose the path of safety; the second, to move towards growth.
If you want to reach satisfaction and self-realization, you must choose growth, bearing in mind that such a choice requires you to rise above your fears.
However, this isn’t an easy task. For someone to allow themselves to grow and develop according to their dreams, goals, and needs, they must deactivate many self-limiting beliefs. They must also rid themselves of irrational ideas and fears.
In reality, many people go to therapy with poor self-esteem, as they’ve limited themselves and are far below their true human potential.
Why does this happen?
Early experiences that minimized your potential
When I believe in myself, I feel happier and safer. However, I’m unable to recognize anything special about myself. I’m not skilled, nor have I done anything that I’m proud of. I’ve always felt like a stranger in my own skin.
These beliefs are very common in those who’ve suffered from a clear lack of emotional support since childhood. In these cases, there’s a lack of appreciation and stable and dependable affection. These people didn’t have anyone to show them that they were capable of doing things, expressing themselves, deciding, being autonomous, and feeling valuable, which manifested in a noticeable lack of self-esteem and self-confidence.
After all, it’s very difficult for someone to believe in themselves when no one’s made them “emotionally visible”.
The psychology of belief
In 2016, a very interesting study was published in the journal Scientific Reports. Dr. Jonas Kaplan and his colleagues discovered, by means of magnetic resonance imaging, the power that beliefs have in the brain. Whether they’re political convictions or unfounded ideas, every belief is safeguarded by a complex neural network.
Moreover, these connections are reinforced by regions with emotional functions. All of this makes it that much more complicated to make someone understand that they have great potential and that they should believe in themselves when making decisions.
Therefore, it isn’t enough for other people to insist on your worth. This is because real change occurs when you “reformulate” your harmful ideas and beliefs.
I believe in myself and know it’s time to grow
When I believe in myself, I make better decisions. When I finally dare to question my old beliefs and the ideas that others have instilled in me, I eliminate my limiting fears and the insecurity that ate away at me.
It isn’t easy to do an internal cleansing and eliminate the critical ideas others instilled in you and that you didn’t even realize were slowly eroding your self-worth.
Every human being has the potential and the capacity to assert themselves correctly in life and leave limiting beliefs behind. It’s time to grow and choose the path of self-realization Abraham Maslow pointed out.
I believe in myself and what I deserve. From now on, I’ll stop being influenced by the conditions that surround me and understand that my decisions define me. The decisions that will allow me to overcome difficulties and find the happiness that I truly desire.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Kaplan, J., Gimbel, S. & Harris, S. Neural correlates of maintaining one’s political beliefs in the face of counterevidence. Sci Rep 6,39589 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep39589
