Deserve To Win

Winning starts with the belief: “We deserve it.”

A thought that gets repeated becomes a belief. A belief that gets repeated becomes a core belief. A core belief drives our behavior. For example, someone who deeply believes in a religion may go to a building of worship consistently; an individual who is seriously against animal cruelty may not eat meat; a person who is passionately patriotic may go to war and fight for his or her country.

The actions we take or do not take are based upon our beliefs.

Born in June of 1940, as the 20th of 22 children, Wilma Rudolph battled polio throughout her childhood. At 20 years old, she became the first American woman to win three gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. Multiple publications, including Sports Illustrated, acclaimed her as the fastest woman on the planet with the best running stride the world had ever seen. When Wilma was asked how she went from polio to the Olympic podium, she enthusiastically responded,

Growing up, the doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.

What’s the story we are telling ourselves?

Is that story holding us back or galvanizing us forward?

Lies rehearsed often enough become our truths.

These lies we tell ourselves tend to begin in childhood, with little to no evidence; however, they are usually first said to us by an authority figure — a parent, a coach, a teacher… such as, “You are not smart enough, fast enough, good enough…” so we convince ourselves it’s fact rather than just one person’s opinion. As we come of age, our internal, validating voice must drown out external, negative noise.

Belief is not a talent. 

Belief is a skill. A skill is anything developed through intentional repetition and deliberate practice. Once we are conscious of this delineation, the onus is on us.

The greatest battles we will ever fight are ones within.

Belief or doubt, through restatement, wins.

C + B = A. What’s conceived in the mind and believed in the heart is achieved in reality.