When it comes to overcoming fear or discouragement there are two popular phrases that most of us have likely heard time and again. “Think Big” and “Believe in Yourself.” And while they’re great suggestions, there are two questions that many of us have thought about when hearing these encouraging words. “What does that mean?” And ‘Why does that matter?”
What Does Thinking Big and Believing in Yourself Mean?
Thinking big sounds easy, but it may not come easily. It means to consider your perspective and expand it. For example, if you’re hand-making a thing and selling it online, that’s great! But could you hire people to make 10 times as many things? Could you sell the training on how to make the thing? Could you create an entire community around the thing? Looking beyond the now, the day-to-day, and seeing what an idea, a business, a hobby, or skill could become, could lead to thinking big.
Believing in yourself is critical to success. It’s not having an unrealistic belief in your abilities or chance or ignoring the risks to success. It’s understanding who you are, how you work, and what you’re capable of. But it’s understanding that accurately and truly, from your own understanding and knowledge of yourself and ignoring limitations and restrictions put on you by society, your upbringing, or just plain doubt.
Why Does Thinking Big and Believing in Yourself Matter?
Thinking big is critical to rising above day-to-day existence. Whether it’s moving from a hobby to a business or just finding a new job, if you can’t focus on the bigger picture, on what’s possible, how can you possibly move from where you are? And it’s not required that you take that step, if your hobby is your hobby and you don’t want to leverage that into a multi-million dollar-a-year job, that’s ok.
But knowing and understanding the possibilities lets you make that decision with all the necessary information. And if you are looking to make a change or adjust your life, it’s critical to make the best choice for you. Thinking small, thinking ‘inside the box’ won’t give you the opportunity to really change much. It will keep you where you are, doing what you’re doing. Thinking big is the key to success and positive change.
Believing in yourself is the key to success and positive change. Thinking big allows you to lay out the goal. Believing in yourself is how you make the plan toward your goals. If you understand how you work, what you value, and what you can accomplish, you can use that to make a plan, a series of achievable steps, to get to the goal. If you allow others or your own self-doubt to convince you that you can’t accomplish these things is the surest way to fail to accomplish them.
Believing in your capabilities, your ideas, and your drive is critical to overcoming all the challenges that face anyone trying to make a change in their life. From going back to school to starting a business to learning to play the guitar, change is hard. Without a strong conviction in your own yourself, it may well be too difficult.
