Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right. – Henry Ford.
One thing without which it is impossible to achieve anything is a belief that the thing can be done. If you start with the premise that what you are about to do is something you can’t do, the possibility that you will be able to do the thing is quite low, if not zero.
For most people, belief in one’s ability springs from the things they have done in the past. But if you are aiming to do something that you have never done in the past, it is hard to believe that you will be able to do the thing. Without this belief, the chances of achieving your goals dwindle.
It thus becomes a vicious circle, which needs to be broken.
Most creative processes – including writing – involve creating something new, and bringing into existence something which was not there before. This is not an easy thing to do. The brain will often cast a doubt on a person’s capacity to do so, and this doubt will then torment the person so much that he may stop creating. What we know as a writer’s block, I am sure, is a temporary result of this phenomenon.
A writer, like any other creative individual, must have complete faith in his ability to create. This faith should be strong, and should not be affected by what others say. A person can focus on a task only when he knows he can do it, otherwise his mind will be too distracted to get the work done.
What you need to do in order to start having faith in yourself depends to a great extent on you, yourself. No one can understand the reasons for your doubts about your abilities better than you, and that makes you the best person to figure out ways to address these doubts, and get rid of them.
It might take a great deal of time in starting to believe in oneself, but it is a fact that nothing substantial can be achieved until you believe that it can be done.
So, it is worth the time and effort to take steps to ensure that at least you have complete faith in yourself, isn’t it?
(Photo credit: raichinger from sxc.hu )
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