Developing self-belief - The 10 step process - Part 4
Author: Nick Best

In this last part of a 4 part series, I will take a look the last 4 steps in the process, and review some case studies of people¡¯s experience of using it.

7) The steps on your plan must not contradict any other beliefs or values you have

Imagine the steps you will have to take to achieve your goal. Wind time forward quickly, and at each step ask yourself. Does this feel right? Is this who I am, and what I want to do, what I believe in, and what I value?

If any of steps do not feel right for you, then change your plan accordingly.

8) Believe that you can do each of the steps on the plan

If you can do each of the steps on your plan, you can surely achieve your end goal too!

Take a moment now to review each of the steps on the plan. For each ask yourself:

Do I really believe I can do this?

If you do, move on to the next step until you reach the end.

If you don¡¯t, change the task to something you do believe you can do and which will achieve the same end result. If this is not practical or possible then you¡¯ll need to put a bit more effort in. The following exercise is designed to break through those belief barriers. Take 10 minutes each day for the next week to do the following:

(i) See in your mind someone you know can, or could, do this step. Visualise them doing it in as much detail as possible. Include any sounds you hear and feelings you have as an observer. Re-run this until you have a really clear image in your mind.

(ii) In your image, replace that person with an image of yourself and re-run the visualisation in your mind. Watch yourself doing the task. Ensure it¡¯s just as clear as when you saw the other person doing it and has all the same qualities including brightness and size, the same sounds and the same feelings.

(iii) Finally, step into the image, so that you are in the scene experiencing it as you would if you were actually doing it. Run it through in real time experiencing what it is like to do this task. Repeat this a number of times until it really feels right.

9) Believe you will do the steps on the plan

Right, so you have a plan that is likely to achieve your goal. You can do the steps on it, and they don¡¯t contradict any of your values or beliefs. The final question is - will you take those steps?

a) Make a list of the 5 key things which could prevent you from taking the steps on your plan.

1. _____________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________

b) What will you do to overcome these barriers to your success?

1. _____________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________

c) Finally, commit to doing the steps on your plan, no matter what. Commit to overcoming any barrier, leaping over any hurdle until you achieve the goal you¡¯ve set yourself.

10) Believe you are likely to achieve your goal

It¡¯s the final step. It¡¯s time to believe you can do the goal as a whole.

i) Take 5 minutes to visualise yourself achieving your goal. What does it feel like? What can you hear? What can you see? What can you taste? What can you smell?

Keep this picture in your mind as much as you can over the next few weeks. The more you visualise it, the more a part of who you are it will become.

ii) It¡¯s time for the big question.

Do you believe there is greater than an 80% chance you will achieve your goal?

If yes, then great - you have a great plan and great self belief, go for your goal with passion and you will be successful. Good luck.

If you have any remaining doubts, what are these, and what can you do to overcome them? Perhaps you need to go back to some of the earlier steps and re-do them, or there may be something totally different you could do.

Case Studies

Lets take a look now at some experiences which other people have had with the 10 step process.

Gail

¡°Last year I set myself a goal to get promoted within a year. I¡¯ve worked hard to try and do it, but it just didn¡¯t work for me. I realise now, that when it came down to it I did not really believe I would succeed. I believed that there were two other people who were more likely to get promoted than me. As time went on, I gradually lost faith in myself as I saw my colleagues working so hard and getting on so well with our boss. In the end I gave up trying.

Although I¡¯ve now missed out on promotion this year, I found the self-belief process has revitalised my desire to do it this year. The key for me was to break down my goal into an action plan which I believed in. I¡¯ve ended up with a number of tasks to do which I¡¯d never have thought of without taking time out to really analyse what I need to do to succeed and what barriers there might be stopping me. In the past I have always been so focused on getting the job done that I haven¡¯t looked at the wider requirements like developing client relationships, generating new work for the firm, and building strong relationships with senior management.

Now I¡¯ve got a plan I really believe will enable me to get promoted next year - now I¡¯ve just got to work hard to make it work!¡±

Nicky

¡°I¡¯ve always lacked self-belief. I had some bad experiences at school which I¡¯ve never recovered from. What I found useful about the 10 step process was that it focused on belief on a goal by goal basis. This meant that I¡¯ve been able to concentrate on believing in myself one goal at a time. At the moment I¡¯ve started with some quite easy goals, but I feel so positive and powerful when I think about these that I just want to get on and do them.¡±

Andy

¡°I¡¯ve been trying to improve my golf game for many years now. Although I¡¯ve improved a little I¡¯ve never made the kind of progress I would have liked. I realise now that part of the reason for this is due to a lack of self-belief. I¡¯ve never been good at sports and I carried the belief that I¡¯m not good at sport into my golf game too.

When I worked through the 10 step process I discovered an underlying feeling that I didn¡¯t deserve to improve. After I wrote down all the reasons I did deserve to get better, something changed in me. I kept on reading this everyday for a week, and also visualised myself improving. The next time I played something had changed in me. I shot my best round of the year and a lot of the inner negativity had gone. I¡¯ve still needed to work hard, but the hard work finally seems to be paying off and I¡¯m shooting consistently lower than ever before.¡±

As you can see from these case studies, people lack belief in their ability to improve for a variety of reasons, and like Andy did, it is important to take away from the 10 step process what is right for you, and use the exercises in a way that fits in with your own position.

Take time to believe

Let me finish where I started and that is with the phrase:

To achieve any goal in life, you must believe you are going to be successful. If you do not, you are likely to fail.

Do take time to believe in yourself, and your ability to achieve your goals. The benefits in your life will be enormous.








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Nick Best is an author, speaker and personal development coach. If you would like more information on the 10 step self-belief process and how to make it work for you, e-mail him at nickbest@managementoflife.com. The article is an extract from this book ¡°The Management Of Life¡±. Other selected chapters can be found on his website www.managementoflife.com.

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