Start believing in yourself now. As we go through life we are bombarded by media, social media, and society on what we should and should not be doing. Everyone seems to have their own opinion of how they the world should operate. It is within our own opinion that we lose ourselves. Unfortunately, it has become a common theme that most people are typically born into an environment and think that the life that they have been given is the only option they have. When we close our minds to the endless possibilities that life has to offer us, we enter a cycle doubt, stress, and anxiety. It is at this point where our thoughts separate us from our oneness of self.

Our experience in life gives us the knowledge that we currently have. While in elementary, middle and high school, this is an opportunity to expose yourself to all of the opportunities that life has to offer. School is like practicing a sport, if you do not work at it, then you how can you possibly think that you will be able to compete at a professional level?

As scholars, we practice our soft skills which are essential to our ability to think critically. Critical thinking, in my opinion is one of the most important but underutilized skill in our society today. Far to often do we go through life doing the right things with the wrong mindset and we get upset with the results. The challenges that we go through leave a lasting impression on our untrained brain and create habits of the mind that are not real. We must learn to control our thoughts and think with “reason” not “emotion”.  The good term used in my college football career and still applies today is MENTAL TOUGHNESS.

Mental Toughness:

Mental toughness is when one has the intangibles, drive, and ambition to accomplish their task. Mental toughness is created through experiences. Sports takes us all through different experiences emotions, and limitless possibilities that we never knew we would experience.

Through that experience; we gain confidence, even if we do not accomplish the ultimate task that we started out in pursuit of. In life, when you feel pressure from a situation dealing with friends, classmates, coworkers or even teammates simply tell yourself the 4 things listed below.

4 Ways to Remind Yourself of Your Greatness

1. I am born perfectly made, just as all living beings were created.
2. I am the expert of me. It is not possible that others could know me better than I know myself.
3. I create my own limits by the thoughts I create in my mind and actions I take to accomplish my goals. Not the thoughts that others create for me or try to wish upon me.
4. True success is overcoming the fear of failure.

By accepting and understanding the basic truth of every situation we face,  it allows us to maintain a birds eye view of our life as a whole and does not keep us lost in the idea that circumstances are the reason that we lack time or the ability to follow our passions. There are no obstacles in life that we can’t overcome if we think about it with reason.

Every successful person has people in their life that told them that they couldn’t accomplish something great. Every successful person also at some point made a decision that they would no longer be subject to chance.  If we allow the thoughts and opinions of others to lead our path, we will forever be lost in a world of finger pointing, excuses, and opinions. Successful people start by creating habits in their life by following their passion and gaining clarity within that passion.

A person that expects to be great is not bragging or boasting. They are rejoicing within themselves because of their obedience to their  life’s purpose. When you expects great things out of life, approval is always welcomed but not needed. There is a huge difference.

When we are focused on ourselves from an early age, we are able gain the self-worth, self-awareness, and self-confidence that we once knew before we started letting the circumstances of life get the best of us. Every person on this planet has problems or challenges. How you deal with them is what makes the biggest difference. Some people get with others in their environment and let the problems that life hands them take control and they remain enslaved and trapped in this way of thinking. Others see opportunity in the challenges they face  and make the best of it and keep enjoying life.

 Lets not deprive each other or our children of what they can experience right now by unknowingly creating an environment that closes their minds to all the endless possibilities that life has to offer them. If we as parents expect greatness for ourselves then our habits and thoughts will create a vibration from within that automatically feeds into our children and others around us. By focusing on the source of the issue everything else auto-corrects itself.  

Meditate On That.

By Lee Williams Co-Founder of PositiveOne