Psych 101: The Power of Trusting Yourself
Faith "is a word that oftentimes carries with it the idea of surrender. In a religious context it can mean, "Let go, and let God take care of it.” It’s true that the egotistical will can get us into trouble in life. This only happens when we aren't aware of the personal reality that we're creating for ourselves, however. When we lack self-knowledge we might tell ourselves, for example, that we want love in our lives while at the same time we’re thinking that we don't deserve it. This is a self-created stalemate. If our personal will backs us into such a corner then it can seem as if only faith in God or other higher power can get us out.
There is an even deeper faith that grows out of self-knowledge, and this is the power of trusting yourself. It comes with understanding that you're the creator of your life experience in every respect. It comes from perceiving the thoughts and feelings inside of you that are being translated into the events of your life. Once you see those connections then you can feel the power and freedom that you hold in your hand to direct your destiny. You may learn to trust yourself more completely than you ever have before.
This is something solid and tangible. Trusting yourself, when it grows out of this kind of self-knowledge, is much more than a mere concept. It is a concrete way of stepping forward with confidence. You act with faith, knowing that you have formed the picture of your life and therefore can change any part of it that you desire.
The concept of faith as it's commonly understood often has more to do with powerlessness. It instills us with the notion that we are empty and need the divine to fill us. It may convince us that we can do nothing, that our only offerings of worth to the world are the result of God working through us. But it is possible to affirm the worth of yourself as much as any concept of divinity that you may cling to. This can enable you to move through barriers in your life that may have seemed impenetrable before.
Faith is a word that has different nuances of meaning for every person. It can be a very helpful concept when it encourages us to trust in ourselves. When we do this we realize that all the answers we need are already within us. Faith can also be a detrimental concept when it convinces us that we must surrender who we are and let some other power guide and shape our lives. Trust in one’s self is the highest kind of faith that there is. "
Moving these articles to my main Psych 101: Account for better management. Yes, This article is mine.