My mom sent me a quote on Saturday, and from the moment I read it, I knew I wanted to make it the topic for today’s Motivation Monday. We all go through periods of self-doubt and wondering whether we are good enough (or smart enough, pretty enough, thin enough … you name your “enough”). In very small doses every once in a while, this can keep us on our toes and keep us striving for our goals.
However, beneath all of our minor insecurities, the most important thing we can do to set ourselves up for success in any dimension of life is to truly believe in ourselves. Each one of us has some pretty amazing qualities, but recognizing our own strengths can sometimes fall by the wayside. Today, I want to encourage you to look inside yourself and pull out those strengths – and use your newfound belief in yourself to power through a challenge you’re facing, or encourage you to take a leap of faith.(picture source)
While the support of others is reassuring and helpful in achieving our goals, we can’t rely on anyone else to believe in ourselves until we do. Having trust in ourselves and our own ability to “get the job done” is more important than any other external factor. It can be a struggle, at times, to put faith in our own abilities, but taking a step on your own and truly believing in yourself is one of the most liberating things you can do. (picture source)
I have two last loose ends to tie up. First, the winners of my Arctic Zero giveaway are Erin K. and Eleanor M. (as chosen by Random.org). Congratulations, ladies! I’ll send you an email to put you in contact with Arctic Zero.
Second, remember how I mentioned that my running motivation had hit a slump, and that one part of my 3-part plan to conquer it was to enter a race yesterday? Well, despite the sleet, high winds, and cold, I went out to run the half marathon (plus 4 miles before and 5 miles after to make up my long run). Even though I wasn’t trying to run fast, I love races so much that I think my motivation is back on track … I’ll have a longer post about re-gaining motivation coming soon. The real update, though, is about my amazing husband! Kevin had knee surgery for a torn meniscus on November 7th as you might remember, and yesterday he got 2nd place in the half marathon! His commitment to cross-training, stretching, and rehabbing while he was out-of-commission for running is really impressive, and should be a great source of motivation for all of us! (photo from my Instagram)
So tell me in the comments … What is one aspect of your life in which you truly believe in yourself? How could you believe in yourself a bit more? If you’re a runner, how do you get your motivation back when you’re training for a race and hit that inevitable slump?
I AM SAVING THAT QUOTE! It’s beautiful and so inspiring and fits so perfectly in my life (and I am sure everyones really)!! Thank you to your mom for sharing that quote!!
I’m so glad you like it, Gigi! I loved it instantly, too.
What a beautiful read – especially first thing in the morning. I have a friend who could really use this right now. Will pass it a long oxox
I’m so glad this may be able to benefit your friend, Jessie! Thanks for passing it along … I’ll be thinking about your friend.
I love that quote. It is so true. I definitely struggle with believing in myself in a lot of areas, to be honest. I am always afraid of expecting too much and then being disappointed and not knowing how to deal with it, so I minimize my accomplishments, skills, abilities, etc…But I need to challenge myself to work on that!
I do the same, Amy. I used to get feedback at work for saying things like “this is probably a silly idea, but ____”, and I think it’s because I was never fully confident in myself (even when I KNEW I was right). As you know, I think you’re amazing, so I hope you do challenge yourself to believe what I already know is true!
This was really thought provoking, and as I tried to think of how to respond to your question of an aspect of my life that I truly believe in myself, it was harder than I thought it would be to come up with anything. While I feel that I am self-confident, I think I could definitely use improvements with it in some areas of my life.
As for the running motivation, racing is my favorite way to get out of a slump! Also changing up my workouts (adding speed work or hills) can keep things more interesting. I also just like to read other running blogs for some motivation! Congrats to you and Kevin on a great race!
I’m glad you went through that exercise, Lisa! I, too, think I’ve made a lot of progress in my self-confidence, but it’s still hard to say “I’m AWESOME at ___” or be 100% confident in any area. I definitely trust myself a lot more than I did several years ago, and I know I’ll continue progressing!
This has been much needed today, Megan. After some heavy stuff the first two days of work, I was having considerable self doubt- especially in a company where work is competitive and suffering losses.
Congrats on the running mojo and congrats to Kevin- that is inspirational!
So sorry you’re dealing with struggles so soon into the job. Wish I could offer more help, but I KNOW you’re doing an amazing job!
I love this post! But when I saw the title I immediately that of that little kid in the youtube video who gave the believe in yourself speech. please tell me you’ve seen it?! If not you need to see it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaIvk1cSyG8 so cute!
Oh my gosh, I am DYING laughing over that adorable kid!!!! Thank you so much for linking it up – it made my day!!!!
Congrats to your husband! That’s awesome dedication on both your parts. A lot of you bloggers running in cold weather are really making me feel like a total weather wimp! lol! Believing in myself was something I used to really struggle with, but over the last few years, being a freelancer and “making it” has shown me what I’m capable of.
Congratulations to YOU on finishing an awesome race, Tonya! So impressed by you! Also impressed at how you were able to ‘make it’ by freelancing … I hope to follow in your footsteps in my own business!
Amen! I’m definitely learning to trust more in my goals and instincts and the LORD to help lead me!
Good for you, Kat!!
Another great post Megan! Congrats to Kevin. You two are a power couple! 🙂
Thanks, Angela! Coming from Mrs. Power Couple herself ;).
Believe is one of my favorite words – I have it tattooed on my wrist! When I start to doubt myself, I just look down and know that anything is possible if you want it badly enough.
I love that!!! I don’t have any tattoos, but if I did, it would definitely be a word that means a lot to me personally, like yours.
Meg I love that quote your mom sent you! I’m slowly learning to trust myself and believe in my abilities. It’s been a slow process though. Quitting my job required a major leap of faith (as you know) but I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t believe I was capable of so much more! Thanks for reminding me this on this slow Monday morning 🙂
You know I think you’re amazing, and will do such great things! Heck, you’re already doing great things! We’re both learning to trust ourselves, and while it’s hard, it’s a struggle worth going through.
Great theme … and I think so many of us want to ‘be there for someone’ as spouse, friend, parent, child, whatever. And while we CAN help by being there … we don’t have the power to make things better, or make choices easier, or make their life for them. The best we can do is to provide support.
Same thing in reverse – others can support us, advise us and so on … but ultimately only WE can make the choice. I remember when I was making the decision to move to Corning. It impacted all of us, the kids were still young to be involved much, and as Lisa and I talked we narrowed it to Corning or Seattle … and she told me – we’ve laid out everything else, but only YOU can make the call on the job. Just glad I made the right choice – in more ways than I ever would have known.
Congrats to both you AND Kevin on awesome runs! To Kevin – that is just an amazing, steadfast recovery and great performance! He must be thrilled!
And I think you answered your own question about doldrums … I know it is true for me as well – one great run. You had a great race and got motivated. I remember last winter in a cold streak feeling ‘ugh’ trudging day after day … then came one weekend run on a 40F sunny afternoon when I just felt like my feet never touched the ground. The motivation from that powered me into the spring!
I’m so glad you had Lisa to support you through that decision. Situations like that, when one person has to make the decision that impacts several others, tend to really stress me out, and it’s clear you went about it in the right way. Thanks for your congrats – I know that the race environment ALWAYS helps my motivation, whether I’m racing or not – I think that’s why I’m always in the “I LOVE RUNNING” phase during the fall, when I tend to do multiple half marathons in a row! Repeated endorphin highs!
Definitely an awesome message to start the week with — thanks for sharing, Megan 🙂 I use to struggle with things like self-confience BIG time, but it’s been getting better over the years. I’m not sure if that has to do with getting older or proving to myself that I -can- accomplish things when I set my mind to them, but I know that focusing on my strengths rather than my weaknesses has definitely helped a tonne.
Thanks for sharing that, Amanda! I think focusing on your own strengths can be enormously helpful in building your self-confidence. No one is perfect at everything, and if we only focus on what we’re not great at, we can end up beating ourselves up endlessly (I speak from experience!). Hope you continue to focus on how amazing you are!
That’s great! Congratulations Kevin and thanks for the motivation!
Thank YOU, Laura!
I am so glad your running motivation is on the ups! We all have the downs but it’s lifting ourselves up that counts! And congrats to your hubby too – wow! Power Couple!
Thanks, Ruthie! Another thing that helps me regain motivation is looking at race recaps from other bloggers – especially first-timers like you … you ROCKED your first half marathon!