Hopeless? You know all about hopeless situations and how to deal with them from the last lesson. You’re now going to learn about building belief in yourself and your abilities, even if the situation is grim.

Your mindset will determine your level of success or lack thereof. A positive mindset can empower you to abolish hurdles before they become too challenging.

It may be difficult to believe in yourself when everything around you seems to be crumbling into pieces, but keeping faith is the only way to trudge through the hard times and see yourself clear to better days. 

Try these strategies to help you remain steadfast when you’re feeling the pressure of tough times:

1. Reflect on the past. You’ve encountered seemingly insurmountable situations in the past. How have you succeeded in the most unpleasant scenarios? Your ability to overcome these situations speaks loudly for your strength and abilities.

• In some situations, you may be able to emulate your past solutions by adapting them to fit your current situation. Other times, you’ll be able to learn what not to do from past trials and tribulations.
• The past needn’t dictate your future. It’s possible to reflect without working up old, unresolved feelings. This is a positive exercise. If you begin to feel negative emotions, move onto another technique, which can help you increase self-confidence in your abilities.

2. Act immediately. Rather than retreating into your cocoon when a situation becomes intimidating, address it immediately. The longer you allow a situation to sit without attention, the more urgent it will become. A perfect example is a debt.

• Avoid cornering yourself with urgency by creating a proactive plan now.Or, better yet, have a just-in-case plan before the event ever happens. It’s okay to take a few hours to create a plan of attack. But, if you’re still brainstorming weeks from today, you may be stalling. 
• Only you can be the source of a solution. You are in charge of managing your life and ensuring its success. Take pride in this power. After all, you’re free – no one commands you! Your life is what you make it. And you can use your power to start on the right foot each and every day.

3. Believe it. You will make it through. You’ve found your way out of a challenging situation before. You’ll do it now and again sometime in the future. There is always a way to get your head above the water – always. You’ll get better at it once you gain experience.

• You have a fan base of supporters. Your children, spouse, and extended family are cheering you on every day. The chances are that no one doubts your abilities the way you do. They have faith in your abilities because you’ve proven your strength time and time again. 

• As Bernice Johnson Reagon once said, “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.

• Now is as good of a time as any to show yourself what you’re made of. Confirm to yourself that you’re as strong and tenacious as you suspect yourself to be.

Everyone encounters hard times – it’s simply a part of life. And a very major part of how you will address these hard times is dependent on your mindset and your ability to believe in yourself, even throughout the toughest of times. 

Your mindset can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If you allow your mindset to shift into negative territory, you’ll end up with negative results. Remember, you attract the energy you exude!

The next lesson will teach you how to achieve your objectives despite failures.

Here’s what you need to do today:

Think about the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your life. How did your mindset affect the outcome? How would the outcome have changed had your mindset been different? What can you do proactively to ensure the same challenge is easier to face next time?