You Must Believe in Yourself

Believe and you can achieve!

Do you believe you can't? You are right.

Do you believe you can? You are right.

There is no right or wrong. It's all about choice... YOUR CHOICE!

I am a woman that lived and left an abusive relationship, I know how abuse encourages negative self talk. After walking out of my 23-year relationship it seemed like a full-time job to learn how to believe in myself and my inner guidance. I had to find a way to reverse all the negative internal chatter my abuser managed to fuel within me.

Learning to believe in myself again began with tiny little baby steps of personal growth. As the baby steps grew into steps, and those steps grew into strides, I began to face an army of resistance. During my personal growth towards a "new me" many well-meaning people in my life began to question my motives. Not only did they question what I was doing, but they were quick in their attempts to knock me down (for my own benefit, of course).

As you progress along your path of personal growth many people in your life will challenge you. The truth is they have grown comfortable with the old you, the predictable you.

However, personal growth reflects change; it will present a "new you" on a whole new level. Unfortunately, it is human nature to resist change. If you have changed, your closest friends and family might surely assume it is for the worst. It is easy for them to view you this way because you are making their world uncomfortable. Therefore, in their mind, you must be the selfish person in the game of "their" life. I can't tell you how many times I was told, "You are rocking the boat."

During the most challenging years of my life, family and friends tried to place doubt in my mind, and when that didn't work they tried to shove it down my throat. They saw me a dreamer. They couldn't understand my motives in life. They judged me as a stumbled and fell.

My journey to freedom, away from my abuser, was a difficult climb. However, it was a journey where many true friends, and family members, stood beside me and believed in my quest.

However, holding a dream of finding a life of love, harmony and joy was viewed as ridiculous. How dare I believe in a dream? What makes me think I can actually create a new life? They wanted me to stay stuck in a life I hated.

"Really?!?!?" is my only reply.

What they couldn't see was my burning desire, determination and belief that I could live the life of my dreams. To me, it wasn't a case of "maybe I could". It was a deep belief that someday, somehow, "I would".

Yes, I had to put in my time but I never gave up on my dream. Yes, sometimes I took detours to survive, but I never gave up on my dream. Yes, I made mistakes and failure was served to me on a broken platter many times.

The question is, "Did I use failure as an excuse to give up?" No!

To me, failure is... 

(1) ignoring life lessons by remaining in your comfort zone

(2) falling down and NOT getting back up.

To me, success is... 

(1) falling down and getting back up to try again, and again, and again 

(2) learning from your mistakes (what not to do next time)

(3) falling down so many times that you finally reach success.

Thomas Edison has been quoted for claiming he discovered 10,000 ways in which electricity would not work. He refused to give up on his dream to invent electricity.

No matter the path you choose in your life, you must find a way to stand tall and believe in yourself!