Choose to Believe...in Yourself
In her blog, Assortment, Carmella Rayone shares how, as a result of back-to-back job losses and the real estate market crash of 2008, her family of 5 lost nearly everything and chose to move to a small town in Wyoming and build a 665-square-foot cabin to live in. There they have "traded burdens for breath" and now allow more time for passions and less for obligations in their day-to-day lives.
"We began to listen to those quiet desires that had been with us all along, but that had been drowned out by the rumble of faster-paced, achievement-based living..."
Just like Carmella and her family, I have chosen to stop focusing on whether my life makes a lot of sense to those looking in from the outside. What matters to me is that it makes sense to me, from the inside out. I'm choosing to believe in the beauty of my dreams, in the sweet satisfaction of living congruent with what I value and in seeking what my soul quietly longs for.
I didn't start choosing to believe in myself until my thirties. I'm still working on it, practicing every day, a decade later. Choosing to believe in myself does not make my life easier - let me be very clear about that! - but it does allow me to live my life in a far more genuine and meaningful way. And for me, that makes it worth it. At a deeper soul-level, I know it's the most rewarding way to live my life - even when my mind doesn't always agree!
If you wait for the understanding, backing or approval of others to follow where your soul wants to lead, you'll find it very difficult to get there. Tuning in to that quiet voice deep within that is nudging you in a certain direction takes a deep commitment - choosing to believe in yourself over and over...and over again.
"We knew that we weren’t doing this for the approval of others. We couldn’t continue going down a path that was accepted by the vast majority. We had to find our own way to peace of mind..."
Choose to believe when others doubt you. Even more difficult, choose to believe when you doubt yourself. Choose to believe when you risk and fall short. Choose to believe when you suffer significant loss along the way. Choose to believe when it seems that everything is standing still and you're getting nowhere. Choose to believe when you feel completely alone. Choose to believe when you think that it doesn't matter. Choose to believe when there are no accolades coming your way. Choose to believe when you feel tempted to give up. Choose to believe when it would be so much easier not to. In the long run, it will always be worth it!
"In the middle of a culture that screams the opposite, we’re learning that it’s necessary to insulate ourselves without isolating ourselves, and to consistently check our heading to ensure that we’re maintaining the course and staying true to our values..."
