I believe in myself...

The other day I went for a run with my daughter, Elliana. I was running and she was riding her bike. This was the first time she rode her bike while I ran. Usually, she rides her bike and we go on a family walk, but this time I wanted to run, which meant she had to keep up.

She started off slow, and I kept pushing her (not physically) to go faster. She would speed up, but then she would get a little scared and slow down. I would push her to go faster, she would, but then she would slow down. This pattern went on for a while, but eventually she got the hang of it. For the rest of the run she kept up.

About halfway through the run, I heard something from Elliana that surprised me though. She was saying a phrase over and over again quietly. I listened closely and I heard her repeating over and over, "I believe in myself. I believe in myself." I asked her why she was repeating this over and over and then I was shocked when she said, "you say this all the time to me, and now I need to repeat it so I really know I can do this." So, for the rest of the run she kept repeating "I believe in myself" over and over and the end result was she did great on her bike. In fact, towards the end of the run I had a hard time keeping up with her.

Personally, I believe people are more capable than what they give themselves credit for. I knew Elliana could ride her bike faster. I know she can ride her bike without training wheels too. (But that is for another day.) There are people that I know who can do a lot more than what they are doing know, they just need to believe in themselves. They need to know they can do it, and they have to take a step out and try. One of the things I love to do is push people to try new things, and step outside of their comfort zone. And I love to see people's reaction when they realize they can do more than they ever thought.

I also try to live this way. Growing up I hated speaking in front of people. In fact, in 6th grade I almost fainted when I had to give an oral book report. I hated leading my 4-h meetings because that meant I had to speak in front of people. But now, speaking in front of people doesn't freak me out as much any more. I still get nervous (and I hope I always get nervous), even if I have to speak in front of 20 people. But bottom line, I learned that I can do more than I thought I ever could.

So, where do you need to step out and try something new?