The Magic of Belief

A lot is happening in my life right now at an incredibly fast pace. I do enjoy living in the fast lane, as speed is one of my favorite things. If you know me, you already know. But this is like, galactic speed.

When I ride (my motorcycles, for those who don’t know or have their minds in the gutter), I enjoy going fast. I enjoy hugging the curves of the road and typically have a general sense of where I’m headed. Or, if intentionally wandering, I’m aware that there really is no destination in mind.

In my life, however, I’ve been working on paving the way. Even with some planning and intention, my life has taken a few curves of its own.

I’m definitely not in a hurry to get to the finish line, as there is no prize I currently want to collect. I simply desire to experience this life to its fullest with every moment and every breath I’m here to have.

I don’t think I’ve ever been happier, more at peace, or more in love with myself. This journey has had several abrupt stops, lane changes, flat tires, explosions, and everything else. But things always fall into place at just the right moment.

I’ve learned to look at these things more as life’s adventures than catastrophes, because each and every thing has given me the opportunity to meet new people, learn lessons, and grow. Most of all, these things gave me opportunity after opportunity to believe in myself and fall in love with myself.

Belief is a funny thing. When we’re babies we don’t know how to not believe in ourselves. We just know that we exist and we let the world know when we have needs and desires. As we grow up life happens around us, we don’t get everything we want, we have other peoples’ beliefs and visions dumped on us, and we start to believe a lot of things that aren’t necessarily true.

I stopped believing in myself somewhere along the way. I questioned myself. I didn’t trust my opinions, decisions, or thoughts. I simply didn’t trust myself. 

There have been a few phenomenal people around me that never stopped believing in me. They believed in me when I wasn’t able to. They believed in me until the day I was ready to believe in myself again.

The only person in the world that has always let me know she believed in me for my entire life is my mother. She believed in all of my wildest dreams – even the ones that aren’t her favorites (like my love of motorcycles) and the ones that were astronomically unlikely, like me being the first female Los Angeles Dodger.

Her belief ever waivered. I realize how rare it is to have that. I appreciate that so much, Mama. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for you. Today, I am able to step into the woman I am and NOT apologize for who I show up as. I might apologize for offending you, but NOT for being true to who I am.

It only took me forty-one years to get here! If you’re reading this and you are struggling to believe in yourself, please reach out to me. I will believe in you until you can believe in yourself again. I needed that, and I’d love to pay it forward to help someone else.

Belief is magical. When people believe in you, it helps you keep going. It helps you move forward, toward your dreams and your magnificence. And, one day, when you believe in yourself again, you’ll feel so magical and at peace that you’ll appreciate those people and every moment you lived through to get to that point.