When someone says the words, "I believe in you," and you can tell they mean it, it can change an entire life. Many kids have gone from average to great because a coach took the time to invest in them and see something more in them. People can become superstars when they know that even one person has a belief in them.
With no belief, nothing moves forward. It would help if you had the self-belief to succeed, but sometimes for one to believe in their ability, they need another person to encourage them and give them the green light to do so. Confidence does not always come from within, but it needs to be present regardless of where it comes from. People can say and do all the right things, but it won't matter if they are not confident.
How The Words "I Believe in You" Changed My Life
I will never believe in being a self-made man, and I fight back against the entire concept. Being self-made implies that you never needed help or another human to pour into you to succeed. That is rarely the case.
My parents always told me that "I could do it if I put the effort in." From as early as I could remember, they supported me, and it made me feel like I could try things and takes risks.
I started to notice the difference, though, when I started running track. Track and field is a quantitative sport meaning it all comes down to numbers. You can time every run and workout and collect a lot of data that tells you where you are.
I had a few different coaches throughout my career. The ones that I performed the best with were not the smartest coaches. It was not the coaches who could put the most technical knowledge or had the best training program. The coaches I ran the best with were the ones who said, "I believe in you," I felt it in my heart.
When I knew my coach believed in me, I ran faster because I had more belief in myself. Some of the worst coaches I had were not bad because of their workouts. They didn't work for me because I never felt like they believed in me.
Belief made all of the difference between how fast I was able to run. Nothing else changed. My body was the same; the power in my legs did not change. The only thing that shifted was my mind. The words "I believe in you" made me feel like I could run through brick walls.
When I knew my coach believed in me, I ran faster because I had more belief in myself. Some of the worst coaches I had were not bad because of their workouts. They didn't work for me because I never felt like they believed in me.
5 Reasons Belief is So Powerful
These five reasons will point out how people who believe in themselves have a huge upper hand in life. It's not even comparable. When belief is coming from a good place and not false confidence, it can change experiences and perspectives.
1. You See Possibilities
When you believe in anything, you're better able to see the potential that is around you. You start seeing doors where others only see obstacles. People who are experiencing a lot of doubt can't see good things if it slapped them in the face. They tend to focus on the negative, more, and more.
2. It Decreases Your Fear of Failure
One of the biggest things that will hold you back in life is having a fear of failure. The reason is that success is highly dependent on your ability to take risks. If there is no risk, there will be no reward. The people who take all the risks in life are the ones who believe in themselves. Why would someone with no self-belief take a huge risk?
When someone says, "I believe in you," you will take more risks after knowing that they got your back. They see something special in you, and they will continue to after you have messed up a few times.
3. It Motivates You to Take Action
When you believe in yourself, you're going to be action-oriented. Think about someone who is depressed. They are in a place where they have very little belief or hope. The result of this state is minimal action. Everything is a struggle when you're depressed. You don't want to wake up or do anything else.
When you believe in yourself, you see the value in doing work because you know it will move you closer to your goals. Daily action becomes a rhythm for you. Belief will motivate you more than anything else. It provides you with hope for a better tomorrow.
4. It Increases Persistence
When you believe in yourself, you are more likely to endure hardships. People who lack confidence give up as soon as life challenges them at all. They don't believe enough to work through anything hard. You see, these people are continually starting and switching directions.
Whereas the person who knows they have someone in their corner, they will fight when they have to face challenges. They have hope that tomorrow is going to be amazing, so they will push until they make it a reality.
5. It Brings Better People Around You
When you believe in yourself, you have much more positive energy. People want to be around people who are positive and make them feel good. No one wants to be around a downer, which is always discouraged and discouraging others.
When someone says, "I believe in you," you will take more risks after knowing that they got your back. They see something special in you, and they will continue to after you have messed up a few times.
Encourage Others With The Simple Words "I Believe in You"
You may believe in yourself because you had a great:
- Mother
- Father
- Coacher
- Teacher
- Instructor
- Friend
- Family member
Some people are still searching for that right person to help them unlock their potential. Consider the fact that you could be that person. You may have someone in your life right now that is waiting for someone to unlock their potential. You could be the person to say, "I believe in you."
Prove you believe in others by being there for them. Be a resource and a faithful ally for whatever they want in their life. Even if you don't believe in yourself yet, you can still be a light to others.
7 Steps to Build Your Belief
When someone says, "I believe in you," that is just the start of the journey, but it's far from the finish line. If you build your belief, you will want to follow these seven steps.
1. Have a Direction For Your Life
The reason most people feel lost today is that they have no direction. They have wandered through life doing what they were told to do. Get good grades, go to college, start a family. That is how you live a miserable life.
What you should do instead is focus on where you want to go in life.
- How much money do you want?
- What do you want your family to look like?
- How much free time do you need?
- Where do you want to live?
- What do you want to drive?
- Who do you want to lead?
- How much do you want to give?
When you have a mission for your life, it's easier to move forward and head in that direction. Direction gives you purpose, and that makes it worthwhile to get up each day.
2. Set Achievable Goals
You want to start by setting attainable goals. People tend to be too quick to set massive goals. When you're working to build your confidence, unattainable goals can work against you. You may intend to stretch yourself, but you end up marking up more failures to your name.
There is nothing wrong with setting easy goals to get started. As you build up some momentum, you will become more confident to go after larger goals.
3. Start Building Small Habits
You want to begin building habits because they will show up regardless of your feelings. Habits don't care if you're tired or not feeling up to it. Habits keep you disciplined even when you don't want to be.
Like your goals, you want to get started in a small way. You don't need to kill yourself at the gym; what you need to do is start by doing one push up a day. Keep doing that until you lock it in, and then you can look to do more. Be faithful with a little first.
4. Celebrate Your Wins
It's too easy to blow by wins and focus on the next success. You hear about great athletes doing this all of the time. Michael Jordan would win a championship and immediately focus on the upcoming tournament.
When you're confident, you can do this, but when you're starting, you need to learn to celebrate small wins. When you take time to appreciate the good, it motivates you to keep going, and it helps you to see that you're making progress.
5. End All Comparison
Comparison is a thief of joy, and you need to stop it! You can have a lot of great things going in your life, and it just takes one trip to Instagram to look at another person's life, and all of that is down the drain. You don't know what others had to do to get what they have.
6. Learn and Keep Building Your Skills
One of the best ways to build your confidence is to get good at what you do. If you're confident but not good at what you do, then it will let you down. Eventually, your skills will be exposed, and your confidence will go down the drain.
Make a habit of learning a bit each day. You want to read, take courses and do everything you can to improve your skills so you can win. The better you get, the more money you can demand, and the more respect you gain, all positive for building your confidence.
7. Get Yourself a Mentor
Getting a mentor is finding another person who can say, "I believe in you." A good mentor is currently living the life you want to live. They should be about ten years ahead of you. Mentors will help you catch mistakes and do everything in life at a much higher level.
There is nothing wrong with setting easy goals to get started. As you build up some momentum, you will become more confident to go after larger goals.
