The word Faith has always maintained a strong connotation. A strong faith in God can cause wars between nations, internal turmoil from neighborhoods through politics, holocausts and persecutions, and racism and prejudice. Faith in God and humanity can also be our saving grace that inspires people to volunteer, help others, and change the world for the long term. All in all, faith evokes an image of drastic, life-changing emotion and powerful worldly consequences.

As a result, faith in our selves becomes swept up in a grand illusion of a more powerful, capable, and self-confident person that goes beyond ordinary self-image. In reality, we show a certain faith in our selves when we make decisions for our future that we’ll be able to get through whatever means possible; we show a faith that we will survive the dangers of the world when we leave the house each morning and we show that faith when we put our selves in positions of authority or under a spotlight that we are capable of performing accordingly.

Faith in your self is a basic human survival tactic, not something one needs to find or gain. But, its easily caught up and lost when we lose our confidence. Confidence is short-term bursts. Do we have the confidence to ask out someone we’re interested in, stand up against an unethical boss, or say no to things we don’t want to do? Whereas, faith is in our long-term choices and our primal instincts. Do we have faith that our children will grow to be kind and giving people; that we will find a compatible romantic partner, or that we will one day have the career we want? Faith goes beyond confidence because it requires hope and perseverance.

So, if we naturally have faith in our selves, then why don’t we always feel it? Loss of faith in our selves and our futures can be a side effect of depression or fear and anxiety. Lack of faith can cause us to have a loss of hope and energy for perseverance. We feel useless and see no positive turns down the road for our selves.

This loss is far from permanent and, with a little work, can start to be found again. Starting with making lists of little accomplishments that you can productively cross off each day, your faith in yourself in the long run will naturally follow. If you can cross off buying deli meat, doing your laundry and getting your work done on time, then why can’t you get the promotion and accomplish your goals in the long run? It seems far-fetched, but when you restore your hope and willingness to persevere by making every day tasks into accomplishments and goals. Not only does it make you more accountable, efficient and productive, but by stacking up even five accomplishments a day, you will feel that you are capable of crossing off big accomplishments as well.

Faith in your self shouldn’t be a grand idea, yet it is just as important as kindergarten posters make it out to be. Though we are born with it innately, it is easily lost once we lose our sense of hope and energy to persevere. Different than confidence, it requires more of you than a burst of courage. But, once lost, can be found once we recognize our capabilities through accomplishments big and small.
When things are the toughest in our lives, that is when we need more faith than ever. Faith that all things will turn out for our greater good. This is crucial! If you don’t have faith, the stress and overwhelm of everyday living could take us down a dark road. When obstacles and stressors are in our face, this can be one of the hardest times to have faith, but also one of the most important. Just believing that you have faith in an area and things will turn out well, can sometimes be a stress reliever. Knowing that God (or whatever higher power you believe in) will have everything turn out for the best. This is something for everyone to practice and develop into a habit. This is one of the most powerful traits that a human being can access!
Marty and Caroline, Life Circles