Creative Director: Believe

I Create: Creative Director of My Life.

I’ve really been analyzing the word ‘believe’ a lot. The meaning behind it, how someone learns to believe, what someone learns to believe and how to improve your ability to believe. And I’ll explain how a large painting of mine during art school and applying for a year abroad shaped my belief in myself.

Believe – Meaning: To have confidence in the truth, the existence or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so.

I also found this definition: Faith (believing) is in a sense, accepting as true what your reason and senses deny. It is dosing down, refusing to listen to the little, rational, analytical, conscious mind and embracing an attitude of complete reliance on the inner power of your subconscious mind (or insert what is appropriate for you, if not ‘subconscious mind’). Where did I find this definition? The book: The Power of Your Subconscious Mind (p.62)

How someone learns to believe: it starts with a trust. If you trust a person, or trust some evidence, then this confirms or proves to you that something is a certain way. This trust then leads you to believe that a thing is true. How do we learn to believe in ourself? My evidence has been: not letting myself down. Do what I say I’m going to do. Follow through and complete things that you decided you would complete. Building my courage and doing things I didn’t know I would have the courage to do.

In college, I wanted to make a large painting. The reference was a movie poster, and this was going to be a gift. I drew it out in a large canvas, it was about 2×4.’ The drawing was good, I was very pleased with how it turned out in proportion to the reference photo. Then I was painting it, which was going along well. But then I got bored. It looked great, I knew it would be fantastic when I was finished. But it was a lot of work. I felt like the time I could devote to it was limited, being in college, and working. I made a lot of excuses. Getting out all the supplies to paint would take up at least half the time I could afford to spend on a given day. It was going to take forever to finish. All the typical excuses to avoid doing the task. I never finished it. I regretted it and still do, but it did teach me that I don’t want to be the one making excuses. If I decide to do something, I will do it. I don’t want to let myself down. For all the time making excuses, I could have finished the project and I would have been glad I stuck it out. So when you know that about yourself and then in future, when you make a decision to do something and you do it.. that’s when you build that trust in yourself. Not to make excuses again and to just do it.

In high school, I applied to take part in a foreign exchange year through the Rotary. I was scared as heck, as I had always been quiet growing up. I got accepted, was told I would go to the Netherlands and I did it. I was there for a year. When you do something that you are terrified to do, that no one would have expected you to do – you gain courage, and as an added bonus, trust in yourself. I can handle hard things. More evidence for myself that I can believe in me.

What someone learns to believe: a lot of this comes down to how we grew up, doesn’t it? The evidence around us. What we hear or are told is ‘true’ around us as we grow. We all have examples of this from our own childhood about how the world ‘is’ as we are taught to perceive it.

How to improve your ability to believe: growing that trust in yourself and your own ability. Committing to yourself and deciding, if I want to improve this area of my life, then, no matter what, I am going to do it.

When trying to improve anything in your life, awareness is the first step. Being aware there is something you want to change. And desire. The desire to improve it and make the change. Last week I told you about some beliefs I wanted to get rid of, and the symbolic dream of my haircut. Since I had brought awareness to what I wanted to improve and the desire to do so.

I’ve used quotes a lot: I set up a few Pinterest boards: private ones that I saved certain quotes to. For a long time, I looked through them every day, when I first woke up and again before bed. Being reminded and inspired to be better, in my opinion feels like the best mindset to be in. It breeds optimism. It breeds faith.

I also have been writing certain affirmations out daily, to start my day. One of which is the theme of this blog and the first sentence heading these blog posts since I took this blog in this intentional direction.

And of course books. Reading books, studying them and referring back to them to build those ‘mind muscles’ in believing. A few favourites lately: The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Autobiography of a Yogi, The Alchemist, and my own ‘Book of Clarity’ – introduced to you last week as all my notes: epiphanies, synchronicities, dreams, ideas.. in short, my clarity and evidence of being on my right path.

Any tips for me, please share! I’m always working on programming my mind to believe!

Until next week,

Devon