The old adage “I’ll see it when I believe it” exists for a very good reason.

The power of belief is amazing. Similar to an intention, a belief is founded in faith and confidence. While there is no “right” or “wrong” way to believe, it’s important to understand how it all works in order to manifest the outcome that you desire.

Here are three things that will help you harness the power of belief:

1. You can only manifest what you believe is possible

If you can’t see it in your mind’s eye, how do you expect to live it? This is where visualization comes in. It starts with a belief, such as “I can lose weight” or “I am worthy of love” and blossoms from this affirmation and power of belief. Everything that we are currently experiencing is because we believe it is possible. Visualizing what we want in life is the beginning stage of creating anything.  We must see ourselves living out our dreams and using our imagination to make the vision as real as possible. Those who find visualization challenging can start out with one thought at a time.  Little by little they can allow their mind to create a mini-movie of them living their greatest intentions.

The mind doesn’t know the difference between seeing and imagining, so the sky is the limit here. The only catch is you must develop belief over time. If you strive to eat healthier, for instance, but don’t truly believe that it’s possible, it’s likely not going to happen. Without the power of believing everything is impossible, but we can train our minds to believe in the infinite possibility that surrounds us.

2. You will sabotage anything that is out of alignment of your beliefs

You may believe that you believe, but do you really believe this? It’s amazing how much we hold on to negative beliefs.  When we try to create things that aren’t in alignment with what we truly feel in our hearts, they don’t go farther than the idea stage. This is often the culprit behind many failed new year’s resolutions. We set out to do something we’ve never done before, but have a hard time believing it will work, and therefore we never let the power of belief grow and take on a life of its own.

Consider everything that you are setting out to do at the beginning of this year. Do you really believe those intentions are possible? What excuses are you accepting that give you an out? Are you allowing yourself to grow a new belief around the things you want to create?   Self-sabotage happens when we don’t understand how new beliefs are created and don’t give them the time to grow.

Sometimes, deep down, we feel that we are not worthy of what we desire. Or, we feel that the roadblocks exist outside of ourselves; believing that the universe is working against us, preventing us from reaching our goals. It is only when we obliterate these self-limiting beliefs that we can begin to see more clearly and believe more fully in our skills and capabilities. Set an intention to transform the energy and power behind your negative beliefs into new, more positive beliefs.  It takes some time to really believe your new beliefs, but it happens if you continue to focus on them and continue to take inspired actions in alignment with your new beliefs.

3. How to create a new belief

• Think about it continuously
  Consider this to be a reinforcement exercise. When you continuously remind yourself of your positive beliefs, you adopt a “practice makes perfect” mindset. Enjoy the act of choosing a brand new belief, and do everything you can to stand by it. Some great ways to remind yourself are:
• • Post-its: Stick colorful pieces of paper on your mirror, refrigerator, office desk, or anywhere else where you could use some reminding and positivity.
  • Affirmations: Voice your belief mantra-style, repeating it a few times a day for greater effect. You can even record yourself practicing your affirmations and play them back whenever you need to.
  • Intentions: Set an intention at bedtime to allow your belief to root into your subconscious mind as you sleep. You may also listen to a guided meditation or binaural beats to enhance the experience.

• Think high-frequency thoughts about the belief
  When you associate positive, high-frequency thoughts to a belief, you fortify it within the mind, heart, and soul. The same works for low-vibe thoughts, so why shouldn’t it ring true for the opposite? Consider a person or situation that you feel negatively about. It’s likely that this strong feeling has anchored itself so tightly to this person or experience that it’s challenging to view them through a different lens. Start assigning joy, happiness, and hope to a person or situation and you’ll notice that your whole perspective has shifted along with this mental shift.

Once your thoughts are in alignment with this belief, your emotions will follow suit, further rooting it into every fiber of your being. Remember that the body-mind-soul connection is real and powerful and the frequency we think at creates our life.

• Don’t be attached to the timing of the outcome
  As humans, we’re naturally inclined to attach some sort of expectation or stipulation to our efforts. Think about how many times you’ve exclaimed “I’m going to lose ten pounds by summer!” or “I’m going to eat better once the holidays are over!” Nine times out of ten, we sabotage our own efforts by placing too strict a timeline on them.

Some things happen naturally, completely out of our control or expectations. This sort of organic growth is long-lasting and effective. Guidelines are great, but so is flexibility and trusting timing. Once you set a belief, be sure to give it time to flourish.  You’ll be amazed at the freedom you feel while staying motivated and continuing to take inspired action. This sort of joy is an excellent catapult for your intentions, allowing them to blossom.

Within each belief that we tell ourselves lies the root of our desires and motivations. We can learn a lot about ourselves by tapping into the power of belief and faith while discovering what keeps us ticking. Good or bad, beliefs show us that we are the masters of our realities and that we must simply tune our frequency towards what it is that we hope to manifest in our lives. Belief is everything!