Changing your mindset and developing a strong belief in yourself is the key to success in any area of life; and with these 7 best tips, you’ll be setting a step in the right direction and on your way to achieving your goals.
People who have a positive mindset and a strong belief in themselves and their abilities are more likely to reach their goals — even if they’re not necessarily the most talented.
If you don’t change your mindset and believe in yourself, then it doesn’t matter how talented or skilled you are, you’ll never achieve success.
So, how do you change your mindset and develop a strong belief in yourself? Keep reading to find out!
Here are 7 tips that will help you change your mindset and develop a strong belief in yourself:
1. Challenge your limiting beliefs.
We all have limiting beliefs that hold us back from reaching our full potential in life. So, if you want to change your mindset and develop a strong belief in yourself, you need to identify your limiting beliefs and challenge them.
My parents were the cause of one of my biggest limiting beliefs which was that I wasn’t good enough. It started when I was a kid, when my mom — which was usually the present one because she’s a stay-at-home mom — would always compare me to my cousin and tell me how he was so much smarter than me because of his good grades (seems innocent right?).
She would constantly tell me that I wasn’t working hard enough and that I needed to do better which lead to me overthinking everything I did and always second-guessing myself. I had to be a perfectionist in everything I did because anything less than that wasn’t good enough in her eyes.
My dad also contributed to this belief by always telling me that I needed to be realistic with my goals. At one point I wanted to be a computer engineer and he told me that the career I had chosen was too difficult for me and that I seriously needed to consider switching.
I took his words to heart and decided not to pursue it because if my dad thought I couldn’t do it, then he had to be right. After all, he is my father and I was constantly reminded by my parents that they knew better and only wanted what was best for me.
I grew up feeling like I could never measure up and that belief followed me into adulthood. I believed that my parents were right, that I couldn’t do something because they said so; I let their words limit me and I didn’t pursue my dreams because I thought that they were unattainable and that I should just settle for something less.
But as I grew older, I realized my parents perhaps didn’t have my best interests at heart but their own; they were projecting their insecurities and limitations onto me.
I decided to challenge my limiting beliefs by doing things that scared me and proving to myself that I was capable of so much more than I thought; I realized that I was the only one holding myself back and that failing is a part of life and it’s not the end of the world if you don’t do something perfectly.
In fact, often times it’s through our failures that we learn and grow the most which in turn helped me not only change my mindset but also develop a stronger belief in myself.
2. Visualize yourself succeeding.
Visualization is a powerful tool because it helps program your mind for success by planting seeds in your subconscious mind — through interpreting imagery as real-life action — that achieving your goal is possible and that you can do it.
It’s been proven time and time again that visualization works. As a matter of fact, Olympic athletes use visualization to picture themselves winning and research has shown that it improves performance.
When I doubt and struggle with believing in myself, visualizing myself already having achieved what I wanted helps. For example, if my goal was to get a promotion at work, I would visualize myself in the new role and imagine how it would feel.
With that being said, visualization is only one part of the equation and without taking action will only get you so far; you need to put in the work as well. So, I also think about what steps I need to take to get there and how happy and proud I will feel when I finally achieved it; this not only helps increase my belief in myself but it also helps me take action because I can see the end goal and what I need to do to get there.
3. Change your language.
The words you use have power on how you see yourself and the world around you, so if you’re constantly using negative words like “can’t,” “won’t,” and “never,” then you’re only reinforcing the belief that you can’t do something.
For example, if you’re constantly telling yourself that you’ll never be able to achieve your goals, that’s going to become your reality. Your brain will start to believe that it’s true which will cause you to doubt yourself and it will become harder for you to muster up the discipline and confidence to do what you want to do.
Personally, these negative words only made me feel worse and it became a self-fulfilling prophecy; the more I said them, the more I believed them and the less likely I was to take action.
Instead, start using positive words like “can,” “will,” and “always.” When you do this, you’re telling yourself that you CAN do it and that you WILL do it; this small change in your language can make a big difference in your mindset, and, hence, life.
So start being mindful of the words you use and make a conscious effort to switch out the negative ones for more positive ones.
4. Surround yourself with positive people.
A few days ago I came across a quote that hit home for me:
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn
This quote is so powerful because it’s true, the people you spend the most time with have a huge impact on who you become. I spent so much time and energy trying to befriend negative people, people who complained all the time and saw the glass half empty.
But what I didn’t realize was that these kinds of people were dragging me down with them. I was absorbing their negative mindset and it was holding me back from achieving my goals.
If you want to change your mindset and believe and have confidence in yourself, then you need to surround yourself with people who have the qualities you want to develop. When you’re around positive and successful people, it rubs off on you and makes you want to improve and be better.
5. Stop comparing yourself to others.
Comparison is the thief of joy and one of the quickest ways to keep your current mindset and kill your self-belief is to compare yourself to others.
I was always comparing myself to others and I thought that everyone else had their life figured out except for me. I would see someone my age who was successful, and instead of being happy for them, I would get jealous and wonder why I couldn’t have what they had.
Not only is comparison unproductive and harmful to your mental health, but it’s also counterproductive because it takes your focus off of taking action and achieving your goals and dreams.
It’s important to remember that everyone’s journey is different, and the fact that someone else might have achieved what you want to achieve doesn’t mean that you can’t achieve it as well; in fact, that person is proof that it’s possible for you to achieve it too, so don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.
Instead of comparing yourself to others, focus on your own journey and becoming the best version of yourself. Be grateful for what you have and where you are in life and focus on taking action and moving forward.
6. Be patient with yourself.
If you want to change your mindset and develop self-belief, then you need to be patient with yourself. Rome wasn’t built in a day, it takes time, effort, and consistency to develop new habits and mindsets, so be patient and keep taking action.
I used to beat myself up all the time for not being where I wanted to be in life. I would get frustrated and discouraged because I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted fast enough. I would start something and if I didn’t see results immediately, I would get discouraged and give up.
But I had to come to terms with the fact that change takes time — it doesn’t happen overnight — and that success is a journey, not a destination. The only way to see results is to keep taking action even when you don’t feel like it and even when you don’t see results immediately.
7. Take care of your body.
Your physical health has a direct impact on your mental health, so it’s important to take care of your body if you want to develop a strong mindset and belief in yourself. When you’re physically healthy, you have more energy, you feel better about yourself, and you’re able to think more clearly.
With that being said, make sure you’re eating healthy foods, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep and your managing stress. When your physical health is in good shape, it’s much easier to keep your mental health in good shape as well.
If you want to change your mindset and develop self-belief, then these 7 tips will help you get started.
