Believe in your abilities
For years I had admired the people who made the step and created their own business. I just could not imagine doing that for myself, although I was playing with the thought. Just thinking about it was a safe game – no risks attached. However, nothing ever happened, I was safely working in my job while dreaming of how things could be different.
What I was missing was the confidence that I could actually do it. People who believe that abilities can be developed, will experience more success in life. In her book “Mindset”, psychologist Carol Dweck, describes that people who have this growth mindset find it easier to adapt, to overcome difficult times in their life and find it easier to make changes.
I certainly did not believe that I had it “in me” to set up a small business. Obviously, this has changed. But how?
I started by getting to know myself a bit better. To learn about the different parts of me. The fears, the beliefs, my ideas, my anxieties, my happiness, my dreams, my values and so on. In this process I realised that I had developed many abilities in my life, which opened countless possibilities. For instance, I moved to different countries, adapted to new cultures, learned new languages and learned how to manage the loneliness that often comes with those changes. And I know there are still so many things I want to learn and I need to learn about myself.
The more I became aware of all those skills that I have developed throughout my life, the more I knew I was also able to learn what it takes to set up business.
Recently I came across this quote by the beautiful writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It reflects how I see and experience life.
“… human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but … life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.”
What have you learned about yourself in the last week, last year?
What did you bring into existence in your life? How did you make this happen?
You might also want to read:
A fresh sheet of paper
Conversations with my pink elephant
