This is Part 3 of my Divine Productivity Hacks series. Click here to see the other posts in the series!
“Our belief at the beginning of a doubtful undertaking is the one thing that assures the successful outcome of any venture.”
-William James
Many of us can sadly get stuck in a habit of thinking poorly about our circumstances. We can believe in the impossibility of things rather than their possibility, the hopelessness of them rather than their hope. And as a result, we can stop an endeavor before even trying.
This is why successful people are mainly those who inflate the possibility of a matter: because our ability to see opportunity is what keeps us reaching for it.
For most of my life, I had wanted to write a book. There were times as a child where I did, but I eventually gave up, or didn’t start on the ideas I felt pressing on my mind. My problem was, I believed in what others told me about writing a book, that it was impossible for someone as young as me.
Sometimes, it’s more natural for people to push others into realms of disbelief.
Yet, in realizing that my disbelief was what was keeping me halted on my dreams, I learned to get rid of it. I learned to highlight the tiny sliver of hope I saw in my mind, and by believing, I could somehow bring it to fruition.
So I believed and I worked hard. That might sound like a cheesy, motivational story, but it truly worked. Once I believed in positive results, I was filled with the confidence and motivation to start and work hard.
Truth is, if you see something as being impossible, your work is going to suffer. Either you’re not going to try or you’re going to deliver sub-par results.
But the more you believe success is possible, the harder you work for it.
Jesus was always trying to get the disciples to believe more in what was possible for them to do. When the disciples couldn’t expel a demon from a sick boy, Jesus responded that they didn’t have enough faith. When Jesus tells Peter to come out of the boat, Peter wouldn’t have stepped out if he didn’t believe he could.
Belief has the power to not only get us to try, but also to achieve more.
Here are a few practical strategies to increase your belief in a successful ending to a large undertaking:
- 1. If you’re a prioritizer, list out your to-do items for the day with positive statements—not negative ones like, “Avoid doing x and y.”
- 2. Surround yourself with motivational quotes to snap you back into the right thinking every time you feel discouraged.
- 3. Name your project. Once you name it, it’s no longer enigmatic, meaning we can wrap our minds around its shape and form. Don’t keep your project mysterious. The more you know it, the smaller it’ll appear.
- 4. Look to encouragement from your friends and family. Build an effective support system to motivate you along.
And so, what is one project in which you don’t believe in the possibility of achieving more? If you’re able to identify one, snuff out your unbelief before it poisons your work.
Photography by Mikaela Hamilton