Hello, Families!
“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
–Napoleon Hill
What does faith mean to you? How often do you think of the faith that you have?
“Seeing is believing” is a pragmatic approach to life. We tend to trust the tangible things in our lives. From a self-help perspective, most of us rely on accomplishment, success, or validation from others to reinforce our positive self-image. “Proof is in the pudding,” as the saying goes.
But what about faith in yourself?
Faith in oneself is a pay-it-forward type of proposition. You have to believe first before seeing.
How often do you believe in something you cannot see? Are there beliefs or fears that prevent you from believing in yourself? Sometimes believing in yourself can be anxiety provoking. What if you hear negative self talk when you try to believe in yourself?
From the arena of sports psychology, visualization techniques are often employed by the best athletes in the world to help realize successful performance. In fact, most top athletes use a visualization practice where they mentally repeat in their minds the throwing of a strike, the serving of a big point, the sinking of a three-pointer, etc.
This kind of practice enables the athlete to elicit the outcome they desire. In a sense, these athletes are practicing faith in themselves. For you baseball fans, I once heard Auggie Garrido (calmly) speak of a pitcher who believed that no one could hit his pitches. Ever. And this pitcher amassed an amazing pitching record.
Auggie’s take on this was faith. The pitcher had absolute conviction that no one could hit him. The amazing thing was that this pitcher maintained this belief in himself even when he was hit. And I think believing in oneself in the face of a failure or setback illustrates real faith.
This visualization exercise can help you develop your self-worth, self-confidence and self-esteem. Try visualizing your faith in yourself. Imagine yourself immersed in the self-love, self-trust, inner peace, or your own version of successul living.
How does that feel?
Having faith in yourself is a conscious act of positive self-regard. Napoleon Hill was a self-taught journalist who interviewed Andrew Carnagie, one of the most successful American businessmen of all time. Hill’s goal was to understand what was Carnagie’s secret to success. Carnagie told Hill his perspective on success, but then charged Hill to interview 504 of the most successful business people for their success secrets. This list included such luminaries as Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Theodore Roosevelt, among others. Hill spent 20 years researching and then wrote the book, Think and Grow Rich, outlining the principles of success these figures practiced.
Hill discovered that the foundation underlying their success was an unswerving faith in themselves. Hill discovered that these successful people engaged in a practice of auto-suggestion, similar to the visualization technique used by professional athletes. Hill perscribed practicing positive self-messages each day for 10 minutes. These messages are the practice of your faith in yourself. Over time, you can change your perspective or realize your goals and dreams just by believing in yourself!
And parents, believing in your children teaches your children to believe in themselves. Faith enacts self-confidence, self-efficacy, and resilience in your children.
Believe it!
Peace,
Craig