Do I really need to believe in myself in order to succeed?

How often do you listen to someone saying “believe in yourself”?

Confidence, self-esteem, self-belief… We are constantly being advised to develop these attributes in ourselves.

People will even tell you that “if you don’t believe in yourself, who else will?”

I agreed with this way of thinking. It made total sense for me. After all, if you don’t believe at all that you’ll succeed, you won’t even try and never accomplish anything.

However, I changed my perspective on that matter.

Even if you don’t believe in yourself, you can always act like you do

In 2014, I moved to São Paulo to start my last corporate job in IT.

That was not what I really wanted, though. My goal was to become a Digital Nomad, working online while traveling the world.

At that time, I’ve been trying to become a Digital Nomad for almost 4 years, without success. After several failures and still suffering from depression, I had little to no energy. I could not feel excitement anymore, let alone have faith in myself.

However, I didn’t pay attention to my [lack of] feelings. Even though I couldn’t feel like I would do it, I kept trying anyway.

I would search and listen to people who would teach me how to do it, and I would follow their advice. I would take action, even though I was not excited, even though I was not happy.

In October 2014, I quit my job, and decided I would make my Digital Nomad dream happen. In March 2015, I got my first paid customer as a Marketing Strategist. In February 2016, I became a Digital Nomad.

I didn’t believe I could do it until I have done it. But somehow I believed. Not with my mind, not with my soul. I believed with my actions.

And in the end, this is the only kind of belief that matters.

It always seems impossible until its done. — Nelson Mandela

Originally published on Medium: https://medium.com/@davidsonpaulo/