6 Practical Ways to Believe in Yourself – Zora Neale Hurston

January 4, 2010 Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen 5 comments

Do you have the power to make dreams come true? Yes – if you believe in yourself. Here are ten practical ways to trust yourself enough to make even your most wildly improbable goals comes become reality…

First, here’s one of my favorite quotations, from author and poet Zora Neale Hurston:

“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”

We’ll never have all the answers – or all the questions. Different years and stages of our lives bring different questions and answers…but if you believe in yourself throughout it all, you’ll be that much closer to making your dreams come true! To unleash the power of your subconscious mind, click Believe In Yourself. And, read on for ten ways to live up to your own potential…

6 Practical Ways to Believe in Yourself – Zora Neale Hurston

1. Work as if everything depends on you. “Sweat, sweat, sweat! Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat!” said Hurston. To make your dreams come true, you have to work hard. And if you’re lucky, your work will be something you love – so it won’t feel like work at all. Have no fear: turning your hobby into a successful career may not be as difficult as you think!

2. Pray as if everything depends on God (or trust your Higher Source). Success isn’t a solo act, my friends. Success grows out of teamwork, relying on and helping others, and tapping into your highest source of power. Don’t get so wrapped up in pursuing your goals that you neglect your soul.

3. Be kind to yourself. This is my biggest weakness: I beat myself up for past mistakes, regrets, and flaws. But I know that I have to believe in myself to make my dreams come true…and part of believing in myself is being kind to myself. Can you make mistakes and move on? I believe that’s a huge part of living up to your potential.

4. Marvel at your magnificence! “Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry,” said Zora Neale Hurston. “It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.” She was a successful, strong woman in history because she truly believed in the value of her own company. Hurston not only saw her strengths, she celebrated them.

5. Surround yourself with successful women – but don’t compare yourself to them. You’re different than other women, and that’s better than okay! You are successful in different ways; you have different strengths and talents. To make your dreams come true and believe in yourself, you need to learn how women become successful – and then find and fill your own potential.

6. Don’t wait for other people to change. “Anybody depending on somebody else’s gods is depending on a fox not to eat chickens,” said Hurston. This reminds me of one of Wayne Dyer’s secrets of success: if you blame other people for the problems in your life, you have to wait for them to change before you can be happy. I love this, because I get so tired of hearing people complain about what other people did wrong, or what they did part way, or what they didn’t do at all! If you give your power away by blaming or waiting for others to change, then you don’t have the strength or power to make your own dreams come true. You do not believe in yourself if you are dependent on others.

Do you believe in yourself enough to make your dreams come true – to soar the way you thought you could?