It has to come from within, not from without. Have you ever heard someone say if you don’t believe in yourself first, no one else will? They were right.
While it can take time to cultivate an unwavering belief in yourself, it can happen. And it can make all the difference in turning your hobby into cash!
Before you even dive into five reasons to believe this is possible, pause for just a moment and consider how you define success. Success for you and only you. Not the other mamas on social media or the successful people on TV.
Paint yourself a picture of what a successful you looks like and hold it close as you explore reasons to believe in yourself.
1. You’ve Made It
No matter where you are in life, acknowledge that you’ve made it this far. Your path here is certainly unique but is still full of twists and turns, challenges and overcomings, let-downs and celebrations.
Yet, here you are. Persevering, pushing forward, exploring how to make your hobby profitable. Dig into your strength and your passion as you envision a happy, full, and successful life in which you believe in yourself.
More challenges may come, but you’ve overcome challenges before, and you can do it again.
Consider what got you through before. What strengths do you see when you reflect on past challenges? What qualities helped you through? How can you use those pieces of yourself to overcome what lies ahead?
2. You Have Support
Think of those people in your life who leave your heart and soul full. Those who support you through thick and thin. Those who would drop anything, anytime for you. You believe in them, right?
And they believe in you. How would they describe you as a person? As a mother? As a friend?
Take a moment to consider what they would say to you in a moment of self-doubt. What encouragement would they offer? What belief?
Maybe you aren’t sure what they’d say, and that’s ok. If you feel comfortable, consider asking someone near and dear to your heart. If that seems like too much of a stretch, consider what you might say to them in a moment of self-doubt.
Write it down. Meditate on it. Do what you need to do to internalize others’ supportive view to that which you believe about yourself.
3. You are a Success
No matter how small, you’ve accomplished something in your life today. Did you get out of bed today? Count that as a success.
Did you hug your kids this morning? Count that as a success.
Did you brush your teeth today? That’s a success.
To truly learn to believe in yourself, sometimes you have to start small. Really small. The more you start to notice things you ARE doing instead of all the things you AREN’T, your brain will start to see more and more successes in what you do.
Give yourself some grace. Take your time. The fact that you’re even toying with the idea of making money from your hobby is a success in itself. You’re looking for ways to challenge yourself. You’re searching for a way to contribute to your family. You’re exploring how to live a life more full.
The biggest success is learning to let you be you, owning it, and loving it. The rest, even a profitable hobby, will come.
4. You are Worthy
Just for being.
Take a moment to let that soak in. Read it as many times as you need to.
Just for being, simply because you exist, you are worthy.
Your worth is internal, not based on what you accomplish with your hobby.
It’s a huge step for many, but try giving yourself permission to believe you are worthwhile regardless of what you do, what you earn, where you work, or where you live.
One of the first steps to believing in yourself is separating your self-worth from what you do. Find small ways to tell yourself you’re worthy, each day. Maybe it feels too uncomfortable to say out loud, so write it down or just think it quietly to yourself. Start with a moment where you truly feel it or with a quality about yourself you already love.
Once that feels comfortable, give yourself permission to do nothing, even for one minute, and tell yourself you’re worthy, while you’re simply being. The belief will start to stick and that belief in yourself will pay dividends as you work towards your vision of a successful, life-filled you.
5. You Deserve It
You’ve worked hard to get where you’re at, no matter where you are. You’re a mom, a partner, a worker, a woman, a human.
You deserve to believe in yourself. You deserve to make your dreams a reality. Simply because you are you.
No matter the feelings of self-doubt that invade your mind when you think of trying to make money with your hobby, you deserve to believe in yourself.
No matter where you feel like you’ve failed, you deserve to believe in yourself.
No matter who you are or where you are in life, you deserve to believe in yourself and your ability to build a life you love.
Try it on. See how it feels to say to yourself “I deserve it.”
Maybe you feel a long way off from making money online with your hobby. Maybe you already have a business plan. Maybe you already have a product and want to increase your profit. What’s the first step?
Believing in yourself.
Which reason resonated with you? Try on a new belief for just a moment and allow yourself to just notice. You may be surprised!
