Although it is nice to have others believe in you…you will become great if you believe in yourself.

When I was a child, my parents would often get me involved in church plays and musicals, sporting programs, and school choir. One of the highlights of those experiences was that my parents would be in the audience or spectator grandstands. As a child, it was exciting to be doing something that I knew would make them proud.

I completely understand what they must have felt at the time. As a parent myself, I love to support my son in his various activities. And as he grows older, I am so proud of the man he is becoming. I truly believe in him and cannot wait to see the world he builds around him through the years to come.

However, a parent’s job does not simply end by supporting their children. Something my own parents taught me was how to support myself. This process began as I learned the basics of self-care, such as brushing my teeth and taking showers. It then went on to being able to do my own laundry, learning how to cook, and setting a budget.

The most valuable lesson they were teaching me when they would enroll me into such things as sports, or when they taught me how to do laundry and cook, was to become responsible for myself and what I would become. And their support by being present in the audience or at home was to show how proud they were of the effort I was putting into those activities. As a result, I began to believe that if I do my best I should be proud of whatever the outcome will be.

I appreciate all the support I received from my parents over the years. And although it feels incredible to have them believe in me, I’m most thankful they taught me how to believe in myself. My greatest potential cannot be realized if I only focus on what others think of me. Not everyone in my life will believe in or see value in me.

We will always be a work in progress. And I truly believe our best is yet to come. But we will not be able to get where we are going without also believing in ourselves. People come and go from our lives. The one constant that will always be with you is yourself. Believe in you and who you are, and I know you will become the best version of you!