How well do we really trust ourselves? And just as important, how can we trust others, if we don’t trust ourselves?

We make many decisions throughout our lives, and some of those decisions can haunt us. We worry about whether we made the right choices; we worry about what others will think, hence the struggle with our “negative inner dialogue” continues.

Trust encompasses many feelings and behaviors such as; self-confidence, respect (for yourself/ others), compassion, understanding and commitment, just to name a few. It is also strongly connected to our values; in business; in life; it’s what’s important to us.

Self- doubt and fear can create a lack of trust and can hold you back in life. (Fear is the number one reason for procrastination). It can stop you from; taking that promotion; starting a new career or writing that book you always dreamed of. It can be the emotion you feel after making a mistake that stops you from taking action for fear of failing or failing again and looking bad in the eyes of others.

One of the truest acronym’s I have ever heard is – Fear: False Evidence Appearing Real

We often create our own fear in our minds through our thoughts and beliefs, and even the beliefs of others. Sometimes those beliefs are based on self-doubt or what we hear about -nothing more substantial than that. A belief is basically a thought we repeat over and over in our mind until it becomes real to us. The good news is our beliefs can change, if we so choose.

There are many books and concepts about how our minds are “programmed” based upon our thoughts and beliefs as we grow up; “Virus of the Mind” by Richard Brodie is one of them.

Trusting yourself requires confidence in your own beliefs and abilities. It means giving you permission to make mistakes, and then learn from those mistakes. And it means not giving up on yourself, your dreams or your goals.