“Believe You Can, Visualize Success, and Take Action” by Joan Y. Edwards

The things that go through your mind can either make you or break you. They either hold you back to the old, or give you freedom to do things that you have never been done.  It will give you the freedom to do things that no one has ever done.

Do you find yourself hearing a little voice on your left shoulder saying, “I can’t do it. There’s no way.”

From the right shoulder you hear a voice saying, “I can do it. I’ll find a way.”

According to the studies I’ve done and the people I’ve talked with, we all have these voices. Some from within, some reflected from our self-image out and reflected back to us the thoughts, fears, and ideas we have within us. We have to conquer these negative thoughts. We have to think above them and beyond them.

Henry Ford very wisely pointed out that your brain wants you to be right. It searches for life experiences to make us right. “Whether you think you can or can’t…you are right.”

Believe you can.

The only voice that can really stop you from achieving your goal is what you say to yourself. I think the people in history who accomplished the impossible, did so because of three factors:

#1 They kept on trying to achieve the goal even with other people’s voices or their own voice telling them they couldn’t do it. They turned it into a stronger, “Yes. I can do it. Or no matter what you say, I’m going to try. I’m going to figure out a way to do it in spite of the odds.

#2 They captured a vision of success in their minds, looking past all the obstacles that might be placed between them and their goal. They kept this vision that they could do it at the top of their minds, with pictures, with words, with recordings. They took baby steps. Each little success kept them going. Little failures may have pushed them back a couple of steps, or put them down in the dungeon for awhile. However, this belief kept them going.

#3 They took action towards the goal.

The Wright Brothers kept the vision that they could indeed make an airplane that could fly.

Eastman Kodak made a camera that could take pictures.

Gutenberg invented a printing press.

Edward Everett Hale said, “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”

Remember that you are one. God sent you here for many purposes. There is one thing you can do that no other person who has ever graced this earth can do. Spend time with yourself. Discover what this is. Do it.

You can’t write all the stories that publishers want now. Write your story. Write the best you can. Believe in your story. It will find its way to the arms of a publisher who believes in your story as much as you do. Believing is contagious. Catch it like a lightning bug. Watch it glimmer and shine. Then let it go. Let go of all the negative. Empower yourself. Send it off to a critique group. Send it off to a publisher or agent.

If it’s not writing, it’s okay. If it’s sports, do it. If it’s cooking, be the best chef you can be. If it’s teaching, teach. If’ it’s caring for your elder, love yourself and your elder. Do it the best you can. If you don’t know how, learn. Empower yourself with love and education. Do it.

If you have doubts, pray, and educate yourself. If you still have doubts, draw a picture of you completing it. Stick figures are okay. Find magazine pictures. Newspaper articles, internet articles. Your brain puts pictures in your mind and puts labels with them. Draw your stick figure of you celebrating the accomplishment of your goals. Write your goals down. Write them in the present tense.

I am…

I have…

I can…

I allow myself to…

Believe in an abundance of skills, money, resources, education, and motivation to accomplish your goal(s).

If you still have doubts, then say:

God believes in me, I can do it. Joan Y. Edwards believes in me. She believes that I can do it. If I believe in me, too, the power of three will work towards my advantage.

Here are other resources to help encourage and inspire you to believe in yourself more fully than you’ve ever done before.

Clay Andrews. “4 Things that Keep You from Your Goals:” http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/4-things-that-keep-you-from-your-goals/

Liraz.com. “30 Best Anecdotes of All Time:” http://www.liraz.com/Anecdote.htm

Melonie Dodaro.  “Positive-Thought Strategies to Help You Reach Your Goals:” https://www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/positive-thinking-strategies-to-help-you-achieve-your-goals

Wikipedia. “Edwards Everett Hale:” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Everett_Hale

Thank you for reading my blog. I hope I’ve inspired you to believe in yourself.

Thank you for sharing my blog post links with your friends. I am honored by everyone who reads my blog. Please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.

Celebrate you. You’re the only human being exactly like you. Be happy. Be thankful. Be excited to be you.
Joan Y. Edwards

Copyright © 2011 Joan Y. Edwards