Tag Archives: trust yourself

Magic Is Believing In Yourself

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is quoted as saying ”  Magic is believing in yourself.  If you can do that, you can make anything happen.”

Through the years, I’ve read lots of wonderful, uplifting quotes about belief.  Some had to do with religion, others alchemy and even science.  I’ve read them and pondered the basis of my beliefs.  Most of them have been handed down through my english, swedish and irish ancestors.

My Mom and Dad very carefully taught me what they had been taught.  And I believed.  I believed not only them but also my teachers in school and church.  For that matter, I believed what every authority figure in my life had to say.

I do have to admit that many of these people are great in my eyes.  My english teacher in high school inspired my love of words and books.  My seminary teacher, a couple of college professors and several art teachers achieved a measure of success  in their own lives and inspired my love of learning.  However, as I’ve grown older and become aware of them as human beings with frailties, I realize that all they could give me was their own best guess.

I accepted the values of others verbatim.  What does that say about my intuition and judgement?  It would have made more sense to accept them as input, accumulate them, weigh them against what I saw in my life around me and come to my own conclusions.  Because, as I look back, there was a lot of “do as I say, not as I do” going on.

the thinker and yellow roses 009

I love the quote from Napoleon Hill:  “Do your own thinking on all occasions.  The fact that the human beings are given complete control over nothing save the power to think their own thoughts is laden with significance.”

This sculpture, The Thinker, by Auguste Rodin is a image of a man thinking…..lost in thought.  His muscular body suggests a great capacity for action. It was commissioned to be part of an intricate monument:  The Gates of Hell.  I like to think he was contemplating his beliefs:  which values are worth living for and then what was he going to do about it.

For years I made resolutions in the spirit of  ringing in  the New Year.  Some I kept longer than others, but for the most part, they were quickly forgotten.

I asked my husband if he planned to make any this year.  Not surprisingly, he said no.  But then he added that he makes resolutions almost every day and that as he reaches goals or milestones toward goals, they invariably spawn new ones.  It’s an ongoing process for him that has evolved over the years.  He is a thinker and a doer.

So, I’ve come up with this:  I resolve to learn more, to think more and to do more in 2015!   Let’s make MAGIC!  Let’s learn to BELIEVE IN OURSELVES!

 

My Libran State of Mind

I was recently told “You shouldn’t feel that way”.  “How the hell do you know how I should feel?”  Oh my goodness.  Did you hear that?  That was my mothers voice.  And…yes…she was right.  Feelings are so uniquely personal.

When I was younger and was uncomfortable in a situation, I would just endure it and be relieved when it was over.  Was it peer pressure, living up to family expectations…..trying to appear to be someone I’m not?  It was all of that.  It was fear.  Fear of disappointing.  Fear of not measuring up.  Fear that if I spoke up and said how I really feel, no one would like me.

I googled “feelings” and “trust yourself”, etc.  One thing lead to another and I found some great quotes.  One attributed to Goethe I loved:  “As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live”.  Another went something like…..never waste your feelings on those who do not value them.  And, it hit me, that’s me.  I’m the one who doesn’t value them.  I share them.  I wallow in them.  Why am I not acting on them?

I spend a lot of time in a Libran state of mind.  I weigh the pros and cons.  I try to see all of the angles, perspectives and set up a value scale. What a waste of time!

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Maya Angelou is quoted as saying:  “Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God”.

I resolve to add “I listen to myself” and “I trust myself” to my affirmations each day and then act accordingly.  Does that mean letting go of my baggage and focusing on what will make me healthy, wealthy, happy and successful?

Well,  I’m going for it.