“A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch but on her own wings. Always believe in yourself” – Unknown
Do you believe in yourself?
When the seas get stormy and life feels unbearably hard, do you still believe in yourself?
When you can’t seem to catch a break, yet you witness others around you winning at every turn, do you believe in yourself then?
It’s easy to believe in ourselves when life is going smooth and everything turns out the way we hoped and planned. It’s a much different story when we are presented with challenges and obstacles that cause life to unfold in a way we didn’t expect or want.
During challenging times, our belief in who we are becomes a valuable asset and lifeline. Yet, it’s often during hard times that we question ourselves the most.
Believing in ourselves transforms life before us. When we are connected to our truth and see our worth, the storms in life don’t disappear, but they do become easier to travel through.
Our belief and trust in ourselves helps us weather the storms and not give up on ourselves, our hopes or our dreams. Life is not meant to be a burden. There will be challenges along our journey, but getting to be here at all is the ultimate gift.
Sometimes getting to the place of seeing ourselves and believing in ourselves can be tricky. Here are a few of my trusted practices to ‘believe in yourself’, especially when it feels hard to do.
1) Add Movement
Being more active in our daily life is a simple way to connect to our bodies and inner spirit. When life feels hard or stagnant, we might not feel like taking action. But when we move our bodies to the best of our abilities, we begin to physically pass through our stuck places.
Physical activity increases our feel-good endorphins. We can use our active time to breathe deeply and let go of stories that cause us to beat up on ourselves or disconnect from our truth.
2) Summon Your Inner Mama Bear
When life gets hard, instead of losing hope or turning your back on yourself, practice what it feels like to be the mama bear of your life. As mama bears, we quickly take charge and step into the driver’s seat of our life. We may not be able to change life circumstances around us. But we can change our experiences through added perspective, compassion and love.
When we act as our own advocates and caregivers, we are less likely to add to the storm by being needlessly hard on ourselves. When we are mama bears, we don’t berate ourselves with negative self-talk. Instead, we rise to the occasion knowing we are strong and meant to be connected to our inner spirit.
3) Hydrate Your Body
Staying hydrated throughout the day is a simple, yet often overlooked thing to do. When we are dehydrated, everything that previously felt hard has a way of compounding. When we don’t feel well physically, it can be more challenging to make decisions and maintain healthy perspective in our lives.
When we are hydrated, we have mental clarity, more energy and our digestion typically functions better. When we feel good from fueling our bodies with fresh water and proper nutrition, we are less likely to fall apart at the first sign of challenge.
When we feel good, we are more apt to stay connected and present in our bodies. When we are connected, it’s easier to see ourselves for who we truly are – it becomes second nature to want to continue treating ourselves well.
4) Listen in on Self-Talk
If you don’t feel great about who you are, but you’re not really sure why, try listening in on the stories you’re telling yourself. This practice doesn’t take long. Listen to the tone and intention behind the words you say to yourself and out loud to others.
If you find you are engaging in a lot of negative self-talk, don’t use it as fuel to feel worse. Simply use what you find as information to make a change. Either practice saying less, or experiment with adding more compassion and love in your language.
Imagine speaking to yourself the same way you would to a small child – let this be your guide. Words are powerful, they plant seeds that shape our experiences. If you want to feel better about who you are, practice using language that will build you up.
5) Rest Up
It goes without saying that sleep is one of life’s most precious resources. When we don’t get enough regular sleep, we are impacted physically, emotionally and spiritually. When we are sleep deprived, our worries and challenges become amplified.
Getting adequate sleep and down time helps us recharge. When we are rested, we can face challenges and obstacles from an even and grounded place. When we have natural energy, mind-chatter has a way of decreasing. Having more quiet space helps us see what is truly important. When we are rested, it’s easier to see ourselves and others around us as awesome human beings.
6) Be on the Lookout
Our perspective is powerful, what we focus on grows. If you can’t remember why life is a gift or why you are awesome exactly as you are, start looking for evidence that will lead you to your awesomeness.
Many of us allow our mistakes and stumbles to overshadow the hundreds of reasons that point to why we are great. In order to stop the pattern of being hard on yourself, be on the lookout for evidence of your worth. If you are here, alive in this moment, you’ve got one very big piece of evidence why you are worthy. The rest of the reasons are everywhere, it’s a matter of training yourself to see them and take them to heart.
7) Ask Yourself the Important Questions
One of the best ways to strengthen our inner spirit is to deepen the connection we have with ourselves. The best way to do this is to have a keen sense of self-awareness and be willing to ask ourselves the important questions. Start with: What do I need right now? Then honour yourself by following through and giving yourself what you truly need.
When we are honest with ourselves and honour ourselves, we are ultimately saying yes we believe in who we are at our core. The thing is, we can’t hide from ourselves. All of us make mistakes, we all stumble. It’s okay.
At the end of the day, each of us has the most incredible travel partner within ourselves. When we trust who we are and believe in our awesomeness, life becomes an amazing adventure.
What do you need to hear from yourself in order to believe in your awesomeness?
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Originally published at emilymadill.com