Written by Wallace Shane Giron Dharmasena, Author
Wallace Shane Giron Dharmasena is an individual with an undying passion for the art of literature and filmmaking. He is the creator of Reflections, a page that focuses on forging thought provoking, heartfelt, and hopeful works of poetry. An author of multiple books, his most notable work being "You, The Beauty & The Madness In Between."
Our daily lives are constantly plagued with endless trials and tribulations, and they often become devoid of any sense of hope. Circumstances have dawned upon us all where we feel utterly helpless and clueless. Aside from the external conflicts that surround us, we must also contend with the internal conflicts within ourselves. Our thoughts and emotions, if not in the right place, can often cause us to act recklessly and nonsensically. Needless to say, life, in and of itself, is a challenging place in which to maintain an endless amount of faith. However, there are a few aspects of life that are worth having faith in. These aspects will be explored further throughout the article.
C: Stands for control
In this life, there are, in fact, an infinite number of aspects over which we have little to no control. Aside from natural elements such as the weather and natural disasters, there are also the emotional, mental, and physical states of other people, as well as their choice of words, actions, and decision-making, to name just a few, all of which are completely out of our control. Therefore, I can understand the lack of faith in these areas, for there is nothing we can truly do to change them. It is quite a troublesome task; quite frankly, it is too much to ask of us to have faith in those very aspects.
When it comes down to it, we can only base our faith in others on their track records in the past. However, we also have a choice to believe in their capabilities and the hidden glimpses of their strengths and reliability. However, that ultimately is up to you.
Y: Stands for you
First and foremost, the one aspect worth having faith in is yourself. At the end of the day, you have full control over your thoughts, emotions, actions, words, and decisions. So, it would generally make the most sense to have faith in something over which you have full control. But more often than not, it is ourselves in whom we have the least faith.
Now, that may stem from a lack of trust in yourself speaking from personal experience. I struggle with trusting myself to make the right decisions and to act reasonably when faced with tribulations and conflicts within myself. It was quite difficult to overcome that distrust, as I would often make decisions and act recklessly in ways that directly or indirectly caused pain to someone close to me or to myself. Over time, though, as I continued to make countless bad decisions along the way, I gained some insight that has helped me regain the trust I had lost in myself.
The keys to unlocking faith
Here are a few keys I have come across that have helped me restore a semblance of faith in myself throughout this rollercoaster of a journey called life:
1. Mean what you say
At the heart of building trust and faith within yourself is none other than honesty. I found it quite difficult to have faith in my words, given that I was a blatant liar in the past. I would often say one thing and mean another. I would say things that sounded right but never truly meant them. Over time, this habit seeped from my conversations into the very routines that shaped my lifestyle. It hindered me from being productive or constructive, which, in turn, caused a war within my own mind. I was endlessly engaging in back-and-forth arguments with myself, leading to me degrading myself to the lowest point possible. It was truly unnecessary because all I really needed to do was to simply mean what I said with all honesty to avoid all of this.
2. Follow through
As they say, “Words are meaningless without actions,” an aspect I struggled with for the majority of my life. I often found myself making lists of plans and goals for the day, constantly telling myself that I would accomplish them, only to end up slacking off. This behavior made me bitter, and, as a consequence of those choices, I began to hate myself. However, as I started to get into the right headspace and began following through with my words, it became a little easier to build a sense of trust. Seeing myself move forward with what I set out to do, instead of disregarding it and procrastinating, allowed me to develop confidence in my actions.
3. Accountability is key
The last, but most important, key to building faith and trust in yourself is accountability. At the end of the day, you must hold yourself accountable for your words, actions, and decisions rather than blaming external factors or other people for influencing you. I’ve found accountability to be the most challenging part, as it requires digging deep and examining myself through an unbiased and logical lens. Through meditation, prayer, and self-reflection, I realized that, despite outside influences, the actions, decisions, and words I chose were made by no one but me. External factors may have influenced me, but that’s all they did to influence me. Ultimately, I made the final call, so the responsibility falls on me. Realizing this made it easier for me to evaluate my actions, words, and decisions. I began acknowledging when I messed up, understanding the consequences of my choices, and figuring out how to do better moving forward to prevent the same setbacks from reoccurring. Now, accountability works both ways. Just as you need to acknowledge when you’ve made a mistake, you also need to recognize when you’ve done something good. Maintaining this healthy balance has helped me develop firm faith in myself, as it shows maturity and a willingness to recognize my actions and their consequences and then improve upon them.
Faith is a choice
We are all imperfect beings, which makes it easy to lose faith in ourselves in both minor and serious situations. However, that is nothing to be ashamed of. As human beings, we possess the tools to learn, improve, and grow. As with all things in life, trusting and having faith in yourself is a choice that is quite a crucial one, I might add. But it is also something you can work on. So long as you remain honest with yourself, stay true to your word, hold yourself accountable, and focus on bettering yourself each day, one step at a time, you will have no reason to lack faith in yourself.
Read more from Wallace Shane Giron Dharmasena
Wallace Shane Giron Dharmasena, Author
Wallace Shane Giron Dharmasena is an ecstatic, spontaneous, and hopeful mind. Born with a condition known as Hydrocephalus, which has endowed him with difficulty in walking, coordination, balance, and ridicule in terms of his appearance. He aims to spread a message of hope and redemption in a reality plagued with endless amounts of downfalls, dread, and misery. A message that encourages people to look inwards and realize the beauty and goodness that lies within every individual.
