Trust.

Just imagine what life could be like if we were to trust ourselves a little more?

 Imagine the dreams we have - if you could step out on stage and give a speech - that you trust yourself enough to not care what others think, to not worry if you’re going to make a fool of yourself, to not fall flat on your face. 

Self-trust can be big and I wonder how many of us pay any attention to it?

So, what is it to trust yourself?

I have no formal definition here, just my curiosity and the answers that I have received. 

Here’s my definition:

• Believing in yourself

• Stepping away from what others think/say/do and listening to your intuition

• Knowing that you have your own back, whatever the outcome

• Being enough just as you are and not seeing yourself as flawed

This year I have had to trust myself in so many different way. Like really, really trust myself. Believe in myself. I’ve had to educate that muscle of self-trust in me in several ways, such as:

• Learning to say no a close friend to being a bridesmaid (I needed to trust myself that saying yes to myself was okay, even if I knew it would cause hurt)

• Taking on my house by myself once my housemates moved out (I needed to trust myself that I could pay the bills and maintain the property myself)

• Setting up a new outdoor bootcamp (you can check it out here - www.kernowbootcamp.co.uk), not by starting 1 class but my putting on a timetable of 7 classes - and therefore having wages and rent costs to pay

• Being on podcasts for the first time and trusting that I have interesting and worthwhile things to say, and believing that my voice matters

All of the things above - I once couldn’t have done. It’s not been a case of ‘healing’ things or being wrong, it’s been learning a new way of doing things. After all, there is so much life on the other side of discomfort. 

As with everything - there’s no right or wrong way around things. The best answer is what feels best suited to you. 

Below are a couple of ways in which I have learnt to educate myself and learn to trust myself in a conscious way and you can do too:

1. Look at times in your life that you trust yourself already - there are thousands and thousands of examples every single day.

   1. I trust my fingers to work to type this

   2. I trust my ability to drive my car to have gotten me to bootcamp this morning

   3. I trust my knowledge in the difference between a blackberry and a poisonous berry when just out picking them

   4. I trust myself to boil the kettle and make a boiling cup of tea

   5. I trust myself to cooky breakfast

2. Be curious, why can’t you trust yourself? What is it that is stopping you? Send whatever it is SO much love, it’s been around to protect you and keep you safe. Tell that part of you, you’re learning a new way.

3. Reflect back on a time when something felt uncomfortable and new and you didn’t believe or trust yourself. Then notice how you overcame it and what it felt like after

4. Accept everything just as it. The more you try and ‘fix’ things and get pissed off, the more tense you will get. Allow things to be just as they are.

5. As you’re going about your day, before you’re about to do something, have a little chat with yourself. For example, the cup of tea on my desk, before I pick it up I might say ‘I trust myself to pick up this cup of tea’. And then pick it up.

As with everything, it’s all to do with practise and re-educating yourself. 

Stay Wild,

Izi xx