BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

At times, it can be hard for you to believe in yourself, especially if you have developed negative feelings, like you have nothing to offer or are unworthy of things, only until you realize that the contrary can be true. If you are having trouble introspecting and seeing all the amazing things you possess and all the beautiful things you could offer to make this world a better place, there are simple things that you can do to start believing in yourself. You can take stock of all the things you have already accomplished and set goals for future, you can make new friends, have good discussions, get fresh perspective of things, look for opportunities to use your skills, you can take good care of yourself to build your confidence 

1 Make a list of your past accomplishments. Writing out a list of your accomplishments will help you begin to believe in yourself. Sit down and make a list of all of the things that you feel you have excelled at during some point in your life. Include even the most minor activities, like putting together furniture from IKEA or organizing a party for a friend or family member.

• After you’ve compiled a short list, try to find patterns in the activities. Identify what you have done well over and over again to understand your skills.
• As you identify the skills that helped you accomplish things, begin to list those skills in a separate column. You can also make a list of stuff that you admire about yourself in a third column.^[1]
• For example, if you notice that you’ve been successful at caring for dogs or cats, this could mean that you are naturally a compassionate person. In which case, try to find more activities that will help you to use this skill--such as volunteering at a local animal shelter.

 2 Talk to people who love you. If you're having trouble seeing all the wonderful things about yourself, you can always talk to someone who loves you. Sometimes we have difficulty seeing the best things about ourselves, but the people who love us will never struggle to see those things.

• Say something like, “Lately I have felt like I am not good at anything, but I am trying to move past that and identify my skills. What do you 2think I am good at?”

3 Find a cause that you believe in. It may be difficult to believe in yourself if you are always trying to please others. Make sure that you look for causes and projects that appeal to you and that you actually believe in. The passion that you feel for these causes and projects will help you to work harder and see how much you can achieve.

4 Set realistic goals. Setting realistic goals will help you to believe in yourself and your ability to accomplish things. Make sure that you develop goals that are in line with your skills and that are attainable. For example, if you have decided that you want to work towards a long-term goal of becoming a veterinary assistant because of your animal handling skills, start by setting a small attainable goal of applying to a veterinary assistant program. Once you accomplish that goal, you can move on to another small, attainable goal that helps to get you closer to your long-term goal.^[2]

• Be prepared to go outside of your comfort zone now and then. Even though you are setting realistic goals, you might need to do things that you don’t normally do to accomplish your goals.
• After you set a goal, work hard until you achieve it. Don’t abandon a goal because it becomes too difficult. If a goal seems too difficult, try breaking it into a series of smaller goals and focus on one at a time.

6 Reflect at the end of each day. Self-reflection is an important component of self-improvement. It helps you to take stock of what you are doing well and what you still need to work on. Take a few moments at the end of each day to reflect on your experiences. If you have a day where you don’t accomplish as much as you hoped you would try to learn what you can from the situation to avoid repeating any mistakes you might have made.^[3]

• For example, if you can’t seem to get yourself up in the morning to go on a hike as planned, you may have learned that you have trouble getting motivated in the morning. Try setting multiple alarms, and maybe even place one of them a few feet away from your bed, so you have to get up and turn it off. Or, you could try to find a different time to hike, instead of forcing yourself to do it in the morning