Believe- this word has been the one that makes ordinary people extraordinary. It has the capacity to change one’s perception. For example what makes us believe in the trick a magician is performing? Is it the trick? Or the sleight of hand? None of it. I’ll tell you a secret. The magician believes in his magic. That is what makes a great magician. He believes the story he is telling to the audience, he believes in himself. It’s not about the illustrations, or the applause, or any sleight of hand. It’s about the magician’s ability to believe in himself and his ability to have the audience believe in him. A trick is never done at the expense of the audience. A real magician transports the audience to a world where anything is possible, everything is real and the unbelievable becomes believable. That’s what makes the magic real. That’s exactly how a trick works and mesmerizes us. The ability to believe in himself, and to make the world believe in whatever he is doing.

The world has seen great leaders like Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi etc. What was in them that made the whole world follow them? They believed in themselves and believed in whatever they had. That was how they made the world believe in them. It’s the belief that they can make their goals happen. Why can’t we be like them? What is the thing that keeps us in chains? If Adolf Hitler didn’t believe in himself and in whatever he said, he wouldn’t be able to lead such a huge nation to war. Honore de Balzac the French novelist said “When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt”. You know what the voice in your heads says right? You can’t do it. You’re weak. You’re going to fail. It taunts us and thus leads us to self-doubt. The more you fight self-doubt, the more it fights back. How do we get out of this self-doubt?Here are some things you could do.

1.Celebrate Your Wins

A simple and efficient trick will be count your wins and celebrate them. We are generally stuck on our expectations and this in turn hurts and disappoints us leading us to doubt. The best thing to strengthen your belief in yourself will be celebrating your win. You’ve achieved a goal, celebrate it. Be happy cause you’ve come this far. This will bring a sense of joy and will motivate you to achieve your long term goals. Find ways to keep moving forward to reach your goal.

2.Be Positive

Focus on the positive things. Psychologists have found that we often focus on negative comments about ourselves while ignoring the positive ones. Trying to focus on the negative will do no good. It will leave us with a bad self-esteem. Try to focus on all the good and positive comments that you’ve got and all the good things that you have.

3.Help Others

In helping others, we can often get a better view of what we’re capable of and feel better about ourselves in the process. Helping others through volunteerism or everyday acts of kindness brings a wonderful sense of fulfillment. Once you help someone you will feel more confident. It gives us an opportunity to develop people skills.

4. Be enthusiastic and active

Be active and enthusiastic. Being enthusiastic is contagious. It will light up the people who are with you. Do things that are difficult. Avoid procrastinating or putting off things because they are difficult. The reason why people become great is because the avoided procrastination. Set yourself straight and get rid of procrastination as fast as possible

5. Leave The Past Behind

Lastly no matter who you are, what you’ve been through let it not define you. As Batman says “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me”. Don’t stick or dwell in the past. Move on and let go off all the fear and pain. Once you break the limits you become limitless. You’re a showman, with unique gifts. This life is your stage, how you perform depends on you. Believe in yourself and go ahead. Celebrate your uniqueness. Cheers to life!