Johnny was a really good dancer. In fact, he was the best dancer in our high school. He learned the latest dances, taught them to the rest of us, and was always the star of the school socials. Apparently he caused quite a stir among our friends. One commented, “Johnny’s good. And he knows it!” Let’s think about this comment. Wouldn’t it be a shame if you were good and DID NOT know it! It would be awful to go through life not realizing that you were competent, capable, able and effective. Obviously, Johnny knew he could dance. He was confident enough to learn new dances and to “perform” them. He possessed one other trait: he believed he was good! He believed in himself. He was not cocky nor was he conceited. (Conceit is a strange disease that makes everyone sick except the one who has it!) He believed in what he did; he believed he did it well; he enjoyed doing it.
Here’s a question for you: could you be good and NOT know it? If you knew you were good, wouldn’t you feel better, have more confidence, enjoy your life and your work more? (The answer is yes. I’ll help with the hard ones.) If you believed in yourself and in your abilities, wouldn’t you be a better spouse, parent, friend, salesperson?
We tell our children they are capable and competent. We tell them they can make the team, pass the test, be selected. We encourage our friends that they can get that promotion, close that deal, overcome that hurdle.
It is common sense to believe in others. Why then, is it so difficult to believe in ourselves? Shouldn’t it be common sense to believe in ourselves? Our parents do, our best friends do, our spouse does. God does. He made it clear in Psalms 56:9, “This I know. God is for me.” He also made is clear in John 3:16. If He believes in us, why shouldn’t we? After all, His knowledge is certainly greater than ours!
Perhaps we need to make this a common practice. Ralph Watts certainly did. Ralph was the type who would give you the shirt off his back and then call you that evening and ask if it fit properly. Yet, Ralph had a tough go of it. He had health challenges, he lost his parents before he finished school, and three teachers and a college professor told him that he wasn’t smart enough. Yet, he didn’t believe in what they said. Ralph believed in Ralph! This belief led him to attain two masters degrees. This belief led him to become president and CEO of a multi-million dollar health care organization. This led him to the top 15 in earnings for all CEO’s in his state. This led him to a wonderful family with a beautiful wife and daughter. Ralph did not believe in the opinions of others. He believed himself to be competent, capable, and effective.
You are probably very good in several areas of your personal and professional lives. You could be more fulfilled if you only recognized that you are good. Just like Johnny and Ralph, if you believe in yourself, you may be able to do more and actually enjoy doing it.
You only need two votes to believe in yourself. Each morning, you must cast a vote for yourself. That is the big vote. Only you can mark your choice. The other vote has already been cast. God has already voted for you. He believes in you and wants you to do the same.
It is common sense, now let’s make it a common practice.