more believing

Have you ever believed in something pretty ridiculous, and looked back on it later in utter disappointment of yourself?

Well, when I was little (VERY little), I genuinely believed that I could go down the drain of the bathtub with the water. If my parents pulled the plug before I was out of the bathtub, I would jump out of the water in a flash. I recognize that there is little to no logic in this thought process, but my brother had convinced me that it was true. In my brain, I thought that the bathtub drain would surely be my demise. I suppose I didn’t know any better, and that’s why I believed him.

Now, as a nineteen year old, I know that going down the drain with the water is not physically possible. I know it seems silly that I ever thought it could be true, but I was caught believing out of fear of the unknown.

While the things we believe in aren’t usually as outlandish as my fear of the bathtub drain, I think a lot of us can get caught up in believing things out of fear. We believe we shouldn’t try something new, because we are afraid of failure. We believe that we just aren’t good enough to do something, because we are fearful of putting ourselves out there to be judged by others. We believe in all the negative thoughts that our brain produces, and it puts us under the control of fear.

In the world we live in, it’s easy to start believing things out of fear. We might even believe that there is way more bad than good. Thinking this way doesn’t do us any favors, though. Thinking this way puts us under the spell of doing everything out of fear. When we believe out of fear, our every action is controlled by worry. Our every thought is shaped by negativity. Every day of our lives is structured around the worst case scenario. We no longer think for ourselves, because believing out of fear already decided it all for us.

We have never been promised to have every day be great, but we are promised the ability to control our mindset about every day. It’s never been a guarantee that things will get better, but we can handle the worst that life can throw at us in a better way. We have the choice every day to start believing more in the good things, and doing that can make each of us better.

We need to start believing more in our abilities to make the most of each moment we are given, and start believing less in fear. Speaking from experience, believing out of fear only leads you to believing that you can go down the drain of a bathtub. Don’t let yourself believe in what fear tells you to. Choose to believe in the things that will allow you to be happy, take bold risks, and live a life that is structured around and strives for the best case scenario.

Let what you believe turn you away from whatever fear you’re feeling today about your life right now, or what is to come in your future.

Believe in the good, and let that belief guide you through the bad.

There’s more to believing.

There’s more to it all.