You Will Never Succeed Without This One Thing

There is no substitute for self-confidence.

Photo by Katrina Wright on Unsplash

The Secondhand Inspiration Project begins with a motivational quote and ventures wherever the creative path meanders.

“I learned that you have to push away the demand of people’s expectations by believing your instincts and believing in what you’re doing.” — Stefano Pilati

Read self-help books, listen to personal improvement podcasts, and network until you know damn near everybody. All these growth activities will have little impact if you lack one essential ingredient.

You can commit to every value-added habit in the world. But if you don’t believe in yourself, you will never realize your full potential.

What you say to yourself matters. Your mental chatter remains the loudest voice echoing through the hallways of your thoughts.

The more you repeat things that empower your anxieties and insecurities, the more you’ll buy into them. But if you swap out the toxic self-talk with positive affirmations, you will start accepting that, too.

Use this powerful strategy to your advantage.

Refuse to treat the criticism and expectations of haters as gospel. Manufacture enough supportive internal dialogue to coach yourself towards your goals.

Tell yourself you will win.

Write it down daily. Daydream about it. Recite it convincingly while looking in the bathroom mirror.

People may begin thinking you’re obsessed or crazy. But the more you mention your pending success, the more they’ll acknowledge it. The more it will seem inevitable to you and everyone else.

Maintaining a steadfast commitment to your dreams, regardless of other people’s opinions, will prompt you to remain true to your purpose.

You’ll never get where you want to go if you don’t believe in yourself. When you choose to listen to your instincts, the foggy path ahead becomes clearer.

Adrian S. Potter — the antisocial extrovert — is an author, engineer, consultant, and public speaker. He writes poetry, short fiction, and articles on various subjects, including creativity, leadership, and personal growth. Adrian is the winner of the 2022 Lumiere Review Prose Award the author of the poetry book Everything Wrong Feels Right (Portage Press). Visit him at http://adrianspotter.com/.