How do you increase your belief?
Springfield, MO · Member since 2014 · 252 posts · 117 votes
So what I'd love to know is how you increase your own belief in what you are capable of accomplishing. As I look at those that are most successful in life…not just in terms of money but relationships, personal growth, and general trajectory of their life it seems that they have this unshakable belief that what they want to accomplish will happen.
If I'm being completely honest I seem to ride the waves of life…sometimes having absolute faith and then other times not having any at all.
So here's some questions for you:
When you ride these same waves of life, how do you pull yourself out of the rut?
How do you expand what you believe you are capable of accomplishing?
Hi @Douglas Dowell, how's my fav attorney in CO?
when I was 25 yrs old, just out of the US Marines, my boss who bought and sold 3 properties a week said:
"If you believe you CAN succeed or you believe you will FAIL, You Are Right!"
I negotiated with 4 to 5 sellers a day, 6 days a week, for 2.5 years, over 125 weeks, over 1000 days, did no marketing, had secretaries confirm "sits" or appointments, my job was to listen to the sellers' stories and write up a letter of intent to purchase or lease
I learned Rei by doing and watching and listening to lawyers and accountants
I was trained, plain and simple.
After those 2.5 years working for someone for $500 a week, and my boss made 10s of thousands, I started my own Llc, my first company.
Listen to Jim Rohn, rip; There is nothing better for self improvement and lasting motivation
Common sense plus prudent action = power
Have power
I think its natural for everyone to have moments of doubt or times when they seem stuck in a rut. I've been blessed with an amazing wife, family and friends who are a great support system for me and are always encouraging me and telling me that I can do the things I want to do in life. This definitely helps getting the positive reinforcement. If you don't have a support system like this, BP definitely seems like a place to get encouragement.
Another thing is whenever I am having a down moment or think I'm not capable of taking the next step I take a moment to reflect, not on where I want to go in life, but where I've come from. @@Aaron Wyssmann Im sure you've have some major milestones in life that at one point you didn't think were possible or you didn't think it was capable for you to do. I remind myself that at one point I was down on myself before I had a major accomplish/milestone and then encourage myself that if I could accomplish that then I am capable of accomplishing the task in front of me or the next step I want to take in life.
At the end of the day probably everyone on this site already has it better than most in life and it helps to count your blessings and realize that you shouldn't be down on yourself. Maybe this one doesn't necessarily increase my belief of success, but eliminates my fear of failure.
Great topic! In my opinion the people who are the most successful and driven have a clear vision of the goals they want to accomplish. They can envision the end result and picture themselves achieving their goals in celebration.
The most successful people are focused on constant improvement and create systems in their daily life to focus on growth, positivity, and productive habits.
Successful people also have a great support system. They have people who are motivating them to succeed. People can be anchors in your life (doubters, pessimist, haters) or engines (motivators, optimist, cheerleaders). If you surround your self with people you want to be like, you will most likely become like them.
Things never go exactly as planned and it can be frustrating. But the best lessons come from mistakes and the unexpected. When you take action, mistakes will be made. But those who are afraid to make mistakes are the ones who settle for mediocrity and live with regret. Successful people are doers!
By focusing on the long term goal, and reminding yourself everyday what you want to accomplish, it will make the short term 'ruts' easier to maneuver and learn from.
Set a vague long term goal to start and it will become clearer the more you take action to accomplish it.
@Account Closed
You both have great perspectives, thanks. I have definitely been blessed and I'll be the first to admit it. I have found that my own head is what seems to get in the way the most :)
I know you posted this awhile ago, but just saw it. Check out Tony Robbins and go to UPW Dallas in June. For real. You will answer alot of these questions in the process. Note to Admins: I am not affiliated with Tony Robbins or any of his companies, just been there and am a raving fan.
@Steven Thomas, aah, Tony and many others relish this question! ($$$$)!...
Fa real!! Havent gotten to the point that I can profit from it!
Fa real!! Havent gotten to the point that I can profit from it!
I meant: TONY loves the question being asked, because HE gets YOUR dollars!
Consider NLP as a tool to change your mindset. We have more control than we can remotely fathom.
I cannot recommend Paul Mckenna and Richard Bandler any higher. I did benefit from Tony Robbins but he is also up-selling and not quite revealing what you need in the personal power series. I also highly recommend John Asraaf who has integrated the latest neuroscience to create an epic body of work.
The key thing is to have a mentor or coach who has obtained your outcome. It is also crucial to have a mastermind group.
Hi @Douglas Dowell, how's my fav attorney in CO?
when I was 25 yrs old, just out of the US Marines, my boss who bought and sold 3 properties a week said:
"If you believe you CAN succeed or you believe you will FAIL, You Are Right!"
I negotiated with 4 to 5 sellers a day, 6 days a week, for 2.5 years, over 125 weeks, over 1000 days, did no marketing, had secretaries confirm "sits" or appointments, my job was to listen to the sellers' stories and write up a letter of intent to purchase or lease
I learned Rei by doing and watching and listening to lawyers and accountants
I was trained, plain and simple.
After those 2.5 years working for someone for $500 a week, and my boss made 10s of thousands, I started my own Llc, my first company.
Listen to Jim Rohn, rip; There is nothing better for self improvement and lasting motivation
Common sense plus prudent action = power
Have power
EXCELLENT QUESTION! I have noticed in my life, (and watching others) that success begats success. When you're running on all cylinders, sh*t just can't seem to go wrong. I've been self employed for all my adult life and I still remember once when I bagged my biggest landscape account, the phone rang off the hook after, and I seemed to get every job I bid on. I quadrupled my size that year.
I do believe that the BEST AND EASIEST way to strenghthen your belief is to see evidence of what you're trying to believe in. Duh, right? So deciding to do "x" and accomplishing "x" then moving onto "y" and nailing "y" whil help you believe that you'll also bring home the kill when you tackle "z".
The difficulty is, "how do I increase my belief that I'll accomplish Z when I really mucked up X and Y? In this case, I think that what HELPS is meditating, and sending that intention while you do. Self talk like "I'm just one of those guys, when I say something's gonna happen, it' happens." I think this works. No, I KNOW it works. But you've got to use YOUR OWN language. Don't use silly boiler plate stuff like, "I am deserving of abundance...everythign I desire flows to me with ease..." Nobody talks or thinks like that so it's not genuine. You've got to really nail it. "I'm a f***ing monster! Everything I brush up agains turns to gold! Get outta my way!" That sort of thing...whatever's genuine to YOU.
Also, simply believing, in your heart of hearts, that believing in yourself helps make things happen. (it does). You'll tend to be more careful about what you think and say when you believe that it matters what you think and say.
Hope this doesn't come across as too "new agey" but I sincerely and completely believe that what we ask for will come to us. Strenghth of belief, right action, and get out of God's way."
Thanks for the mention @Brian Gibbons.
I think the post would be flawed if we failed to mention Think and Grow Rich. The concepts are 100 years old but the principals remain accurate imho.
Action vs. Self-Delusion by Jim Rohn
Knowledge fueled by emotion equals action. Action is the ingredient that ensures results. Only action can cause reaction. Further, only positive action can cause positive reaction.
Action. The whole world loves to watch those who make things happen, and it rewards them for causing waves of productive enterprise.
I stress this because today I see many people who are really sold on affirmations. And yet there is a famous saying that "Faith without action serves no useful purpose." How true!
I have nothing against affirmations as a tool to create action. Repeated to reinforce a disciplined plan, affirmations can help create wonderful results.
But there is also a very thin line between faith and folly. You see - affirmations without action can be the beginnings of self-delusion. And for your well being, there is little worse than self-delusion.
The man who dreams of wealth and yet walks daily toward certain financial disaster and the woman who wishes for happiness and yet thinks thoughts and commits acts that lead her toward certain despair are both victims of the false hope which affirmations without action can manufacture. Why? Because words soothe and, like a narcotic, they lull us into a state of complacency. Remember this: TO MAKE PROGRESS YOU MUST ACTUALLY GET STARTED!
The key is to take a step today. Whatever the project, start TODAY. Start clearing out a drawer of your newly organized desk...today. Start setting your first goal...today. Start listening to motivational cassettes...today. Start a sensible weight-reduction plan...today. Start calling on one tough customer a day...today. Start putting money in your new "investment for fortune" account...today. Write a long-overdue letter...today. ANYONE CAN! Even an uninspired person can start reading inspiring books.
Get some momentum going on your new commitment for the good life. See how many activities you can pile on your new commitment to the better life. Go all out! Break away from the downward pull of gravity. Start your thrusters going. Prove to yourself that the waiting is over and the hoping is past -- that faith and action have now taken charge.
It's a new day, a new beginning for your new life. With discipline you will be amazed at how much progress you'll be able to make. What have you got to lose except the guilt and fear of the past?
Now, I offer you this challenge: See how many things you can start and continue in this -- the first day of your new beginning.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
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To receive more information about Jim Rohn and/or to purchase his best-selling audios and books go to http://www.jimrohn.com. Copyright (c) 1999 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved worldwide.
Provided courtesy of Jim Rohn International
First decide that doing nothing will get you nothing results.
Second, once you decide to do something. Do the first thing first, then the second thing, and so on.
My mom's theory, which she instilled in me, is:
"When you are feeling down, do something hard."
The thought being that the minute you achieve something difficult or hard, your confidence in yourself and what you can do goes through the roof!
:)
@Steven Thomas Thanks for reviving this post from quite a while ago. I'm loving the comments.
@Brian Gibbons Thanks for sharing some great Jim Rohn, one of my favorites to listen to for sure. There is so much good in what he wrote and spoke about.
Another of my favorites is Zig Ziglar. About six months ago I started reading his "Self Talk" card to myself at least once a day and it has made a huge difference. I started noticing the language that I not only told myself in my head but actually said out loud. I started catching myself saying things like, "You idiot" when I would make a mistake at something. That may seem like a small thing but the result of that I know was not good. I've since taken that completely out of my vocabulary.
Brian, I also completely agree with the point that while all this head stuff is important, that if we don't follow it up with action it won't matter. I've have resolved to taking more action and is making a huge difference. I always thought that it was difficult to find a deal and now I see them all over the place, they are not at all hard to find.
1. Do something else. I've had two businesses in the past, they both got into a rut (me included), I couldn't see a way out, so I did what I've done in the past and pulled the plug on both of them. The problem was that I could not see the goal anymore, because both had started to lose profitability. So in a sense, both businesses were in a rut, and the only sane thing to do - was to do something else.
2. You need to see results and rewards. If what you are doing is not realizing those rewards, then it's not about what you are or aren't capable of, its what the situation you're in brings to you. (If that makes sense). If you are on a sinking ship, no amount of "what am I capable of" will save you. You need a lifeboat. No lifeboat, then you go down with the ship.
We are all capable of great things, but we have to be in the situation to do those things. No situation, no great things.
You can see this in terms of relationships as well. No amount of talking my starter wife off the wall was working, so I did what I could do for myself, filed for divorce and moved on. I'm now very happily married to someone who does like me.
(For what it's worth, I filed for divorce on my birthday. I always used to buy myself a new car on my birthday, but i thought, "what the hell, lets get a divorce for my birthday". Man she got the shock of her life when it turned up in the post a few mornings later. I could say she didn't make me breakfast that morning, but then, she never did anyway. Figured I wasn't out much.).
Albert Einstein failed math and later mastered it through old fashioned tenacity. After he died his brain was examined to see if it was any different. They found that his brain was normal in size and proportion. However they found more of the Myelin Sheath which protects the neurons. The sheath is developed and strengthened every time a memory is recalled. Researchers concluded that Einstein had incredible persistence and love for what he did, as a result he strengthened his own brain.
Believing and having tenacity is the key here. Here's another cool story...
People were exposed to poison ivy and placebos but the people were told they were given only poison ivy. Several of the people who were given placebos also developed rashes. By simply believing they had been exposed, their body began to react.
The power of believing is incredibly strong. I began to read articles from LinkedIn.com and found most of the articles were similar in nature... They were very motivational. Later I began reading real estate and investment books. They also laid the foundation of confidence before teaching any other concepts.
Reading and learning is a key ingredient to confidence. You can do it!
Hold up there with the Einstein maths failed story as it's completely incorrect.
It's nice to believe to us chimps that he never failed maths, but a child he taught himself maths because he wasn't being taught that at school, and was teaching himself calculus in the first year he started to teach himself maths.
To boil that down to "tenacity" is a stretch, the guy was an exceptional mathematician.
I would search "Motivation" on Youtube. Tons of 5-10 minute montages with tons of motivational quotes and speeches. I listen to one every morning. As soon as you wake up, for the first 20 minutes they say your subconscious mind is most impressionable. Play one video while you brush your teeth or make breakfast. And ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS..believe in yourself. Believe in your ability to persevere through any tough time. Year's from now you'll be much smarter and more successful.
Only a suggestion, Google the 12 Zen Things and see if they help.