The most important quality you can ever develop
is having belief in yourself. The belief that you can without a shadow of a
doubt achieve success in every area of your life. Virtually every person has
the capacity to do wonderful things with his or her life. But the greatest
single obstacle for most people is self-doubt. Many people wish they could
accomplish certain things but lack the belief that they can actually do it.
When people under achieve in any part of their
life, it is their beliefs more than anything else that hold them back.
Self-limiting beliefs act as breaks on our ability to achieve our goals. Many
of us have high hopes, dreams, and aspirations, but we let doubts creep in and
undermine our talents, abilities, and effectiveness.
Each one of us has feelings of inferiority
because we feel that we are not good enough. We think that we are not as good
as other people, and we feel that we are not good enough to acquire and enjoy
the things we want in life. Often we feel that we don't deserve good things.
Even if we work hard and have some achievements in our life, we often feel that
we are not really entitled to our successes.
The Universal Law of Belief says that whatever
we believe, with feeling becomes our reality. We don't believe what we see;
instead, we see what we believe. Our beliefs form a screen as to how we see the
world, and we never allow any information that is not consistent with our beliefs
to pass through it. Even if we have beliefs that are totally inconsistent with
reality, we won't let them through because our beliefs have become true for us.
The most common and also the most harmful
beliefs are the ones that are self-limiting. These are beliefs about you. For
example, if you believe that you can't achieve something because you don't have
enough money or education, then you might believe you can't achieve something
because you are the wrong sex, race, age, or it is because of the economy. Most
of these beliefs are not true, but they will hold you back nonetheless.
The fact is, you
deserve every good thing that you are capable of acquiring through the use of
your talents. The only real limitation on what you can be and have is if you
lack the desire. If you set a goal and want to achieve it badly enough, nothing
in the world can stop you from achieving it, as long as you're willing to
persist long and hard enough.
To develop positive beliefs, you have to decide
exactly where you want to end up in the future. The clearer you are about the
result you want in your future, the easier it will be for you to change your
actions and behaviors in the short term. This in turn will assure that you
achieve what you want in the long term.
Once you've clearly decided on the type of
person you want to be, you will have already taken a major first step in
developing new beliefs. In order to incorporate your new beliefs into your
every day life, you have to discipline yourself to act exactly in every situation
as if you already were that person. When you begin to act like the successful
person you want to become, you will actually adopt their values, qualities, and
characteristics. And they will then become a permanent part of your
personality.
If you consistently act like the person you want
to become every day and in every situation it will begin a chain reaction. Your
attitude will change and become more positive. This will then build stronger
and more positive beliefs. And your beliefs will then, exert a positive
influence on your values.
You have no limitations on your potential except
for those that you believe you have. Successful people are not extraordinary or
special in any way. They are no different from you or me, but, all successful
people do have the unwavering belief that they can accomplish anything that
they really want in life. You are a good person. From this day forward, see
yourself as the very best you can be, and refuse to accept any limitations on
your possibilities. Once you develop that belief in yourself, and you act in
accordance with your beliefs, your future will be unlimited.
Copyright©2004 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. He is the founder and CEO of JLM & Associates, a consulting and training organization, specializing in personal and business development. Through his seminars and lectures, Joe Love addresses thousands of men and women each year, including the executives and staffs of many businesses around the world on the subjects of leadership, achievement, goals, strategic business planning, and marketing.
Reach Joe at: joe@jlmandassociates.com
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