Believing and Effort
Stanford psychologist Albert Bandura uncovered the self-efficacy theory, stating that as we believe in our ability to complete a specific task, our effort to accomplish the task goes up. The logic behind this is that if we believe we can do something, our energy and focus increases, and as a result we complete the task. Our effort towards a task is a statement of how strong our faith is that the task can be done. Therefore, don’t talk about your belief, demonstrate that you have the belief through effort. We have all heard the stereotype that Japanese children are smarter than American children in mathematics. However, research does not necessarily show this to be the case. When an American child gets a math problem that is difficult to solve, they average working at it for 9.4 minutes before quitting. But when a Japanese child gets the same problem, they average 13.2 minutes before quitting. The Japanese children are not smarter per se, but they choose to believe that the problem can get done so they stick with it and therefore appear much smarter. Giving yourself the gift of believing will lift all skills, including IQ. Faith is about taking action first, without guarantees. Remember, act like who you want to be and that is who you will become.
Faith in Yourself
We are not very good at being a good friend to ourselves. When our friends are challenged
or hurting, we tend to talk to them in an entirely different way than we would ourselves. We are kind, understanding, and show faith in our friends, but lack these qualities personally. If you don’t stand up for yourself, who will? Don’t give yourself room for doubt especially when it comes to you – set your mind and keep it set. Stop overthinking and doubting your gifts. Be bold in believing that your gifts can make a difference in your world. Faith is a choice, not a feeling. Choose to be a good friend to you, and have faith in yourself. Jimmy Carter was once asked about the first moment he believed he could be president. He responded that he never actually believed until after meeting a couple presidents. He said he then told himself, “If that guy can be the president, I think I can.” Why not you?
Encourage Yourself
If you chop a tree down and it doesn’t fall, do you quit? Or do you keep chopping until it
falls? You keep chopping, because you have faith that eventually it will fall. Be a good friend to you and continue to encourage yourself until you get the job done. If you water bamboo for a year – two years – three years – four years – you’ll see nothing. Then around the fifth or sixth year it grows 6 inches every day above the soil. Keep watering the bamboo and even though you can’t see the progress yet, the roots are growing underground, establishing a base. Research finds that believing in yourself and your goals is important, but equally important is realizing ahead of time that the journey you face will be difficult. We may think that just because we have faith in ourselves and set a goal, the rest will be easy. But when we hit adversity, it is typically unexpected and we quit. When someone goes into a task fully realizing it will be difficult, they tend to succeed much more often than those who are not prepared for the struggle. When you have a goal worth achieving, expect that the journey will be incredibly difficult. This way, when the tough times and hard work begins, you won’t be blindsided because you expected it. Encourage yourself to keep chopping and to keep demonstrating faith. Find a phrase that you can repeat over and over to rewire your brain for self-encouragement. Results happen over a long period of time. As far as reaching your goals, nothing will ever work unless you do.
A Higher Power
Meditate on faith and belief. There are great things ahead for you and great things you can
do to make a difference. There is something much higher than us, and that which is much higher would love to assist you in a big way if you call upon it, meditate on it and boldly speak to it. To really activate this power, be grateful for it. It is hard to have a good life without a meaningful life and it is hard to have a meaningful life without meaningful work. The prayer below will help you find meaningful work and wire you brain to go make a difference.
May God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can
Make a difference in the world
So you can do
What others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness
To all our children
Amen
Meditate daily to a Higher Power to get faith in your mission. This will help guide you
towards leading a more significant, meaningful life. There is something larger than us that wants to use you to help make the world a better place. By reading this prayer daily, you can better connect with a higher power.