“I couldn’t have done that without you!”
Mimi and I had just finished a half marathon. It was her first.
“Sure you could!” I said.
(You and I talked about this a couple weeks ago right here on this e-mail! Sometimes we say we "can't" when in actuality, we don't want to, but we could! Remember?)
“No, actually, I couldn’t because I didn’t believe that I could. I borrowed your belief, and I did it.”
That got me thinking about the power of borrowed belief, and those moments when I didn’t believe in myself.
When I was offered the chance to run the group exercise department at a large gym chain headquartered in New York City, I didn’t believe I was qualified. My co-worker Erin pointed out all the reasons I would be able to do the job, and encouraged me to take advantage of the amazing opportunity.
In my keynote, I tell the story of climbing the glacier during the Antarctica Marathon. I got half way up, and was completely exhausted and hopeless! I stood half way up the hill with tears freezing on my cheeks, legs numb, staring at the top of the hill that still seemed so far away. I quit. I was 18 miles into the marathon, only 8 miles left…but I was done. Just then, another runner came down the hill and said “You’ve got this! Look how far you’ve come!”
I turned around, and the bottom of the hill was really far away! I had come so far, and thank goodness that person came to tell me that because I believed my day was over! I believed I was done, and their belief in me got me started again, and I eventually finished the marathon!
That’s the importance of being around people who are doing the things you want to do, and who believe in possibility. Maybe it’s on a podcast, in a book or on the radio. Maybe it’s friends or colleagues, maybe it’s mentors or people you look up to.
Whoever it is, in those moments of doubt, when your inner voice of doubt is squawking, look for those voices of belief, of possibility to go beyond what you thought you could do. Will it be easy? No! Will it be comfortable? NOPE! But in the end, when that medal is around your neck, will it be worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!!