The Audacity Of Belief

“When you truly, truly believe that not a man alive can beat you…then that is the way it is.” –Conor Mcgregor

“I knew I was on the verge of achieving something very special…and I was so hungry, so motivated…I couldn’t be in the wrestling room enough. I lost sight of days…. I lost sight of time.”-John Smith

Listen to any of the interviews from the greats in sport or any other pursuit. I can guarantee one thing they have in common- they believed. With no doubt in their soul, they knew that what they were achieving was possible. Most impressively, they believed this despite all the people in their life who probably said no or thought they were crazy.

The world class performers know that this is par for the course. To be wildly successful, sometimes you need to be able to bet against the consensus. You won’t win all the time, but eventually you’ll win when it matters. That being said, it’s no easy task to believe in something with every fiber of your being, so here are two suggestions to build your belief.

Build Confidence By Accumulating Mental Points

Confidence shows in how you think, how you speak, and how you carry yourself. Confidence is necessary because doubt is dangerous. Like the ability to perform under pressure, it’s something you can build up in tangible steps.

When your mind recalls positive experiences from the past, your confidence will increase too. Think back to your own personal success studies. What have you achieved thus far? This could be huge, daunting tasks. This could also consist of small tasks. Maybe you nailed a move perfectly in training. Maybe that project you did at work was well received. Maybe you managed to get out of bed this morning to get to the gym. You can be generous with your sources of confidence. In principle, you saying to yourself, “I’ve succeeded before and I’ll succeed again.” Accumulate those mental points.

Unbelievable Work Ethic

If you want to believe in yourself, then give yourself a good reason to do so. In some paradoxical, delusional sense, all top performers believe that nobody can outwork them. This is because they work so damn hard to the point where in their own minds, it’s just inconceivable that anyone can work as hard or harder than that. Do you want to be the hero in your own David and Goliath story? If so, then you better be able to pour your heart and soul into your craft. Have you read about any underdog story where the underdog didn’t have to put in work beyond comfortable imagination? Me neither. Working ridiculously hard allows you to seemingly do the impossible. Deep down, though, you’ll know the truth. The truth is that you’ll have earned your right to achieve the impossible one step, one punch, and one round at a time.

The Audacity of Belief

Where are you right now in your beliefs? Do you kind of, sort of believe? Or, do you believe with all of your heart and your soul? The former is rolling dice. The latter will take you to where you want to go.