“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” Charles F. Kettering.

Belief – what is it? How does it impact your life? Can you buy belief over the counter? No, is the answer to the last question. It certainly is free but is actually disposable.

Belief is such a powerful force within us. It may make or break us. It is what we accept as truths born out of perception and acceptance. It is formed from what we see, hear or feel. It is what holds religious organizations strong and steadfast. The tricky part of belief is having to believe in something that has no proof of reality yet. This type of belief has been advocated by success gurus over the decades but a lot of people find it hard to practice, especially today when our society has become increasingly visual. We tend to believe only those that we see to be true and have already happened as in the saying “To see is to believe”.

Do you see the irony there? We tend to believe only those that have been established as truths. But how come we also readily accept those that haven’t been proven true yet? For example, at work, you are eyeing a promotion that you and your colleagues are vying for. How come when you hear yourself nag at the back of your head, “You can’t do it” you almost instantly seem to believe it to be true?

How is your belief lately? Is it limiting or encouraging you? If it is the former, then you need to act now and steer the wheel before you hit a wall. It is a sad reality that when people hear limiting beliefs they almost instantly surrender to it without even challenging it yet.

How do you spot a limiting belief? You hear them everyday. You hear yourself utter them as well as other people. How many times have you heard yourself, “I can’t do it.”, “I don’t think they would like my presentation.”, “I’m no good,” “I’m not cut out for success.”, etc. How many times have you heard people tell you, “You’re never going to make it, believe me.”, “You have limited resources, how the heck are you going to see things through?”, “No one in the family went to college…” These are but some of the plethora of limiting beliefs out there out to get you and discourage you. Watch out for these because when you surrender to a limiting belief it’s like being tied to an anchor and thrown overboard.

So, when you spot a limiting belief, what should you do? Challenge it! Let me say that again. CHALLENGE IT! When you hear an internal voice that is limiting your belief such as “You can’t do it” when faced with a challenging task (like trying to make at least 10 new posts for a science blog each day) don’t agree! Ask yourself questions such as “Why not?”, “Other people can, why can’t I?”, “Do I really need to hear this crap?”, “What have I done in the past where I succeeded? These will certainly create a strong encouragement inside you.

Again, how’s your belief lately? To help you boost your belief and help you steer clear from limiting beliefs, you may re-visit my post.

Just keep on believing. Successful people always do. When faced with a brutal challenge, tell yourself “I can do this” and then, in the popular words of Nike JUST DO IT!