Category: Self Belief

Belief Building December 2024

This time of the year is often associated with a review or look back at movies, music or books released during the year.

I like hearing and reading about what others have enjoyed, so this month I’ll share some of my highlights from 2024.

Perhaps a wrap-up is also timely, as I intend taking a break from writing this newsletter in 2025.  I have created 36 Belief Building newsletters over the last 3 years.  I hope you have enjoyed reading them as much as I have enjoyed putting them together.

Thanks to everyone who shared and recommended inspiring people, ideas, blogs, social media clips, newspaper articles, books or poems. Thanks for your feedback and thanks for reading.

Best wishes for 2025.
Sinead

According to Spotify Wrapped, the top 3 artists I listened to this year were Taylor Swift, Coldplay and Sia. I was a bit surprised by Sia but it seems she features on a lot of the songs that I like!

The 3 books that had the most influence on me in 2024 were:
Chris Hadfield “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth”
Marie Kondo “Spark Joy”
Oliver Burkeman “Meditations for Mortals”.

I enjoyed Chris’ book as it expanded my knowledge of space in a very easily digestible way. It was interesting to read about exercising in zero gravity and the other challenges faced by Chris and his team-mates.

Marie’s book has had a practical affect in terms of how I store my clothes.  Folding them and putting them away takes a little longer than usual but it is worth the effort.

Oliver’s book “Meditations for Mortals” has impacted me in terms of how I think about time and success.  If I had to sum up his message, I’d say; “Life is for living right now and we shouldn’t wait until we’ve cleared the decks of all the things we intend doing first so we can have the perfect run at what we think will be our perfect life. There is no perfection, what we have is just now, just this moment, in all its imperfection.”

I enjoy many different newsletters but I have picked these as my top 3: 
Oliver Burkeman The Imperfectionist
Page Grossman: do5ive
Padraig O’Morain Daily Bell 

Oliver’s newsletter is quite infrequent, perhaps one every 2 months or so but generally an interesting reflection on time and productivity. 

Page’s do5ive is usually sent fortnightly on Tuesdays and Page offers 5 different things to ponder, often on similar themes to Oliver’s newsletter or often related to the time of the year. She also usually includes The Other 5 which is a short and snappy list of what Page is reading or perhaps a link to a podcast or recipe.

Padraig’s Daily Bell email arrives in my inbox every day. It is usually just a paragraph long but always a nice reminder of mindfulness or taking a breath or pressing pause on unhelpful thinking.

I didn’t include movies or TV shows in the lists above as it is difficult to think of 3 that left a lasting impression on me in 2024. 

So whilst it’s not from 2024, I’m going to mention just one TV show, Ted Lasso. Given this newsletter is called Belief Building, I particularly enjoyed the message in the show, epitomised by the poster in the dressing room that said “Believe”.

I’m not giving anything away when I mention that there’s a part in Ted Lasso that includes Rick Astley’s song “Never Gonna Give You Up”.  But mentioning this allows me a segue into a side story regarding Rick Astley which is from a Financial Times article of 28 September 2024 written by Emma Jacobs “What Rick Astley can teach us about giving up”

The article begins with the line “Rick Astley is famous for two things. His 1987 hit, “Never Gonna Give You Up”. And giving up.” It goes onto elaborate that Rick feels lucky to have had the career trajectory that allowed him return to music 20 years after taking a break. The article ends with Rick’s words where he advises that he would recommend a year off rather than quitting completely.  I read the article in September around the time that I was thinking about taking a break from writing this newsletter. If I met Rick, I think I would say that I might take a year off or I might take less or I might take more.  But I will keep reading Oliver’s advice to live in the moment and enjoy what I have without trying to be perfect about anything.

“I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping stone just right, you won’t have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that alot of people who aren’t even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you and have a lot more fun while they’re doing it.” Anne Lamott

“It may not work out how you think it will or how you hope it does. But believe me, it will all work out.” Ted Lasso

“Things don’t have to be perfect to be a success.” Chris McCausland, Comedian and Winner of Strictly Come Dancing 2024

Belief Building August 2024

Whilst in Dublin recently, I visited the portal to New York. It was unveiled in May 2024 and after some early hiccups which caused it to close, it has re-opened.  There are now 4 global locations hosting portals, Lithuania, Poland, New York and Dublin, with more to come.

I found it fascinating. I was there around 1pm Dublin time (9am in New York) and there was a small crowd of people watching our New York counterparts busying on their way to work (many just waved as they hurried past). Then a guy on a bicycle pulled up and started doing dance moves.  Within a few minutes, he had the Dublin crowd copying his moves and we were all laughing and dancing.

Aside from the wonderful novelty of being taught dance moves from New York, it made me think about the power of movement.

I hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter!
Sinead

We have seen lots of movement at the recent Olympics. I was in awe of speed, flexibility, strength and talent every time I turned on the TV coverage. And there’s more to come as the Paralympics has got underway this week.

An athlete that caught attention on social media was Australian Rachael Gunn. Rachael, known as b-girl RayGun when competing, represented Australia at the Olympics inaugural break-dancing competition.

Rachael, aged 36 works as a lecturer at Macquarie University, Sydney. She scored zero points in her heats in Paris and was ridiculed for her unique style of break-dancing.

However, Rachael, who earned a PhD in 2017 researching cultural and gender based aspects of break-dancing, rose above the criticism to urge people to be different, creative and represent themselves.

I read an article recently where the actress Miranda Hart shared that she chooses to dance to one of her favourite songs when she is in a bad mood and that usually cheers her up.

She also says that when she is highly stressed, she tries to walk and move as slowly as possible and generally if she can succeed with that, she can calm herself down.

To mention an Olympian again, diver Jake Passmore uses another type of movement to help him focus and manage stress. He taught himself to juggle as a type of meditation before his competitions.

The benefits of movement are far reaching!

“Don’t be afraid to be different. Go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that’s gonna take you.” Rachael Gunn, Olympian

“You’re not getting up every morning thinking, ‘Olympic gold medal — I have to go and win that and if I don’t train hard, I won’t.’ You’d kind of, I dunno, lose your mind if you were thinking that every day. Mostly, what motivates us is just that we enjoy actually training every day — or more often than not, anyway, certainly.” Paul O’Donovan, Olympian

“Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Albert Einstein

Belief Building July 2024

Whilst the Irish summer has not brought the weather we have been hoping for just yet, we have been spoilt with high profile sporting events.

Wimbledon’s tennis, the Euro’s soccer, Tour de France cycle race, and the Open golf tournament in Scotland have just recently come to a close.  

In Cork, the county is wearing red and white proudly and although our hurlers didn’t get to bring the Liam McCarthy cup home, the Cork camogie team continue to carry our hopes.

There is lots more sport in store as the Olympics has just begun in Paris.

Sport brings tremendous enjoyment and passion but what all these athletes have in common is belief.

As Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” 

A sport I didn’t mention yet is table tennis, read on for its relevance…

Zhiying Zeng played table tennis at an elite level in China throughout her teenage years. A change in rules introducing a bi-coloured table tennis bat, caused her to quit when she was 20 in 1986, as the new requirement didn’t suit her style of play. 

She thought her dream of competing in the Olympics was over.

She moved to Chile to work as a coach in 1989; set up a furniture business, married, had a family and made Chile her new home.

During the Covid19 lockdown, Zhiying, (or Tania as she is known in Chile), found her way back to table tennis.  With restrictions lifted, she started competing again and more significantly winning almost all the tournaments she entered.

Within a short time, she had gained a place on Chile’s national team.  Zhiying turned 58 this month and will be one of the oldest competitors at the Paris Olympics where she will represent Chile playing table tennis!

Remaining with the topic of table tennis, I want to mention the book “You Are Awesome” by Matthew Syed.  The book is aimed at children but in my opinion, everyone would benefit from reading it.

Matthew Syed, an accomplished author, represented Great Britain at the Olympics playing table tennis in 1992 and 2000.

His book, whilst based on how he became good at table tennis, is about mindset and belief.

He gives an easy to understand explanation of the concept of fixed versus growth mindset as expounded by Carol Dweck. 

A self described non-sporty person, Matthew adopted a growth mindset by believing he could improve his table tennis.

“A growth mindset is the belief that your ability is not fixed. You are not handed out a fixed pot of brilliance at birth. Instead you can grow and change your ability with practice, determination and effort.”

Matthew, now primarily an author rather than a table tennis player, goes on to explain how he breaks down his goals into separate elements and examines how he can make marginal gains in each area.  

It’s a useful book for anyone looking to inspire a friend or family member or offer self-encouragement, if in pursuit of a challenging goal.

“Some people say I have attitude – maybe I do… but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does – that makes you a winner right there.” Venus Williams

“If we drop out when we hit problems, progress is scuppered, no matter how talented we are. If we interpret difficulties as indictments of who we are, rather than as pathways to progress, we will run a mile from failure. Grit, then, is strongly related to the Growth Mindset; it is about the way we conceptualise success and failure.” Matthew Syed

“I am the greatest. I said that before I even knew I was.” Muhammad Ali

A Thing of Beauty

I think people admire butterflies more than they admire caterpillars. 

Are we guilty of only valuing the finished article? Only praising the successful outcome?  Only complimenting the final product?

What about appreciating the work in progress? 

Here’s a caterpillar that’s beautiful now.

Self-Fulfilling Prophesy

I am currently reading many essays about different financial crises and bank risks.

Whilst I’m learning a lot about technical, political and regulatory issues, it is interesting to note the impact that sentiment, belief and groupthink had in these historic events.

Many financial disasters started out as small isolated events confined to one institution or one country.  Contagion and fear quickly grew these events to be global catastrophes.

As I read, I’m reminded that if enough investors think the stock market will go down, the stock market goes down, more succinctly referred to as a “self-fulfilling prophesy”.

Of course, self-fulling prophesies don’t just exist in the markets, the lesson for ourselves is neatly summed up by Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.”

Featured Image Credit: Nick Chong via unsplash.com

Success Jar

I have been teaching two 4th year modules this semester.  Part of the assignment for both included students making a short presentation in front of class-mates.  Many of these fourth year students hadn’t done anything like this for 2 years and they were nervous.

However, they did it! 

I was really pleased for them.  There were different standards in the presentations and some felt they could have done better.  I told them to focus on being proud of themselves for having had the courage to stand and deliver!

I suggested they create a success jar or open a success notebook to record their achievement.  I started using a success jar in January this year.  A number of years ago, I created an email folder for any compliments or praise I received by email.  These are useful resources to have to read over in advance of an important meeting or before going to a job interview or even to provide a boost if your energy is low.

Writing this prompted me to review the notes I’ve added to my own success jar.  Year to date, I have 24 successes spread across 99 days.  This equates to a success almost every 4 days.  Many are small things that I might easily have forgotten but I got a lift as I read over them.

Invest in a success jar, you’ll be happy with the return!

Good Enough

For 4 weeks, I have been back on campus delivering lectures and interacting with students in person.

One student I was speaking to told me he had a phobia of maths. It was a major obstacle for him in studying economics.  Whilst he enjoyed the theory aspects, he feared he wouldn’t be good enough to pass the course given the maths content.

To his credit, he told me he was seeking extra help and had allocated daily time to focus on the maths elements.

I spoke to another student 3 weeks ago about presenting a project in front of the class. She told me that she hadn’t done any in person presentations in 2 years.  She felt very nervous and wondered if she could create a recording instead. She didn’t believe she would be good enough if presenting live. 

I spoke to her again this week and she told me that she was trying to practice at home and intended recruiting some friends to be a warm audience whilst she built up her confidence.

It felt rewarding to be encouraging these students and I firmly believe the actions they are taking; being proactive and practicing, will result in improvement for them.

Yesterday, after work, I was talking to my sister and she remarked that I hadn’t posted many blogs lately.

I agreed. I told her I was busy and didn’t have enough time to produce anything that would be good enough to post.

When I heard my own words, I realised I needed to take inspiration from my students.

Taking action and practicing helps us all improve!

Feature Image Credit: Estúdio Bloom via Unsplash.com

One Red Paperclip

Belief, Courage, Action

One Red Paperclip is an interesting and entertaining read.  The author, Kyle MacDonald, a then 25 year old Canadian, decides he wants to trade a red paperclip for something bigger and better, ideally a house! 

Belief

The idea sparked from a childhood game called ‘bigger and better’, where he started with something small but tried to turn it into something ‘bigger and better’ by trading with friends and people in his neighbourhood.  When Kyle was 16, he had full belief in the potential of this game.  He recalled stories of a clothes peg becoming a fridge and he had heard a rumour that trades, that began with a toothpick, had culminated in a car.

Courage

Now in his mid 20s, Kyle had let his belief fade.  The red paperclip hung around in Kyle’s wallet for a few weeks before he got the courage to do something with it.  He procrastinated initially, feeling he needed to do more preparation before he could begin his plan.  His father asked him, “what would you do if you weren’t afraid?”  Finally, Kyle got the courage to take a photo of the red paperclip and upload it to Craigslist, (a classified ads website) with a message outlining his intention.

Action

To Kyle’s surprise, he got many responses.  Now he had to take action, he emailed people back to find out where they were located, as he wanted to make the trade in person.  For his first trade, he changed the red paperclip for a pen shaped like a fish. Around one year and fourteen trades later, Kyle had a … I won’t spoil the surprise in case you want to read the book.  If you are impatient to know more about the story, Kyle recorded a TedX talk in 2015.

He believed he could do something, had the courage to give it a go and started taking action. 

Who knew a red paperclip could be so inspiring?

Happy New Year

At this time of year, we think about setting goals for next year.  I don’t usually set specific resolutions and instead choose a word that is my guide for the year.  I wrote a blog about this strategy last year.  You can read that here.

My word for 2021 was Creativity. 

I started the year doing some sewing but as the year progressed, I did more writing and some art related projects (including attempting to draw cartoons).  In the latter part of the year, I became a more creative cook (although still not a very good one)!

Another aspect, perhaps the most important, involved being more creative in my thinking.  Specifically, I tried to look at challenges differently, I tried to see alternative ways that I could approach my daily life and I sought inspiration from different sources.

I’m delighted with what I achieved.  From starting a regular blogging habit, to creating a website, to designing a newsletter, to tapping into different reading material and new contacts for advice and encouragement. 

Looking forward my word for 2022 is Belief. 

I intend nurturing my self-belief, encouraging others to rise above self-doubt to believe in themselves and above all, I will hold the belief that anything is possible.

This time last year, I didn’t think that in 12 months I would have a website and almost 50 subscribers to my newsletter, which is called “Belief Building”.  

But I have a website and with an additional 10 subscribers, I will hit my target number of subscribers for 2021. 

This is a link to a sample newsletter which is hosted on my website. Future newsletters will be delivered by email and  I intend to create one per month in 2022. Each will offer an inspirational story about someone who achieved something that may have seemed impossible, some advice on maintaining motivation and some quotes from encouraging people.

If you know anyone who would like to join me in Belief Building in 2022, please feel free to share this link to subscribe.

Happy New Belief Building!

Feature Image Credit: Wout Vanacker via Unsplash

Positive Affirmations

Whilst, I believe in using positive affirmations and trying to be optimistic and hopeful, I also know that I don’t always feel 100% positive.

I don’t want to be a fraud reciting a mantra of “I am happy” or “I am confident” when in fact I feel frustrated or annoyed.

Of course, saying “I am frustrated” or “I am annoyed” goes against the wisdom of positive affirmations.  So what should I do?

I received a useful piece of advice about this recently and it is simple.  Instead of saying “I am annoyed”, I can say “a part of me is annoyed”.

Therefore, I remain honest.  I am not denying my feelings but also I am not influencing my whole day with negative emotions.