Trust Yourself

Over the years, I’ve worked with a lot of students – both adults and children. In all of those years, a simple phrase became a common refrain.

You can do it. Trust yourself.

Many of my former students will attest to this. I said it a lot. Most of the time they smiled sheepishly and gave whatever it was that was making them nervous a try. Sometimes they succeeded, sometimes not. They always tried.

It’s been a while since I’ve been in the classroom. The students of my first year in the classroom graduated from high school 10 years ago. (I still remember most of their names and faces. I still share stories about them.) I’m hoping they have learned to trust themselves. When I was their teacher, I didn’t yet trust myself.

Other students of mine are finishing up their college careers and are on their way to becoming successful adults. I hope that they trust themselves. When I was their teacher, I had found a way to trust myself.

As an adult, I have learned that trusting yourself is really important. In fact, I think it’s more important than I originally believed.

I have a friend who is struggling right now. She’s wondering, I think, if what she is doing is making a difference in this world. If anyone notices the little things that she does and how well she’s doing her job.

I started thinking about this … about her dilemma. What could I say to help? The thing I keep coming back to is, “Trust yourself.”

Insecurity is awful and it’s mostly silent. It’s like seeing everything through a dirty window. You can’t see anything clearly and it’s hard for light to get in. Trust me on this, I know. I can be one of the most insecure people you’ve ever met. My windows get dirty all the time!

But here’s the thing. You can’t get stuck. You can’t let it freeze you up. (… and by you, I mean all of us because I don’t believe anyone has escaped the insecurity monster.)

When the windows get dirty, it’s time to find some cleaner! Because insecurity is often silent, I find it helpful to make some noise. It’s kicking nasty self-talk right where it hurts most. It’s letting your inner bully know that you mean business. So, I say,

Trust yourself: You know what you know. You know what you need to learn.

Trust yourself: You know if you are in over your head. Find someone to help.

Trust yourself: You know that the world won’t really end if you make a mistake – or even if you fail.

Trust yourself: You have knowledge – and that it powerful.

Trust yourself: Everyone is here for a reason. Everyone has an important job to do.

Trust yourself: Well … that’s really it, isn’t it. Just do it!

I don’t pretend to have all of the answers. I can’t say for sure that I understand what my friend is going through. I don’t understand why some very capable and competent folks feel insecure from time-to-time. I just know that I’ve been there and I don’t like it one bit.

Here’s a great one for you … ready? I am, at this very moment, insecure about publishing this post.

Aw, heck, I’ve never been a good housekeeper. I’m just gonna break the window!