Do You Believe in Yourself?

By Laura Lee Carter

It seems like such a simple question and yet it is not, not when others challenge your belief in yourself and your purpose.

When I was younger and I did not know who I was, I would pretend to be someone else, someone more agreeable and, I thought, more lovable. That way nobody had to know me… it felt safer that way.

When my midlife crisis struck, I decided it was now or never. The total transition did not start for me until my 40s. I got rid of my husband and started appreciating my true self.

I thought: For better or for worse, this is me!

Because I started being me I met more people like me, and could relate so much better to them. I found a life partner who meshed perfectly with my way of being in the world, and we have created the life we only dreamed of before we met…

I am now 60 and my life has improved 500% since I started being me! I always listen to my own inner wisdom and try to appreciate all that I am. I try to be a first-rate version of myself everyday, and I can certainly encourage you to have the courage to do the same at any age!

But when others are critical and mean, try this method of evaluating their words. Do their opinions have merit? What feels true about their words and what feels simply critical? Do their words benefit you in any way?

Don’t let others’ words define you. Only YOU can decide who YOU are.

Be magnificent. Be powerful. Be you for you.

Laura Lee Carter, MA Counseling Psychology, the writer behind the popular online blog How to Believe in Love Again, has been helping others turn midlife difficulties into opportunities for personal change since 2007. Besides working as a psychotherapist, Laura Lee has authored a number of books and e-books on midlife transformation.  Don’t miss her new book: Find Your Reason to Be Here: The Search for Meaning in Midlife. Follow her on Twitter: @midlifequeen.