Don't Believe in Yourself

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2. Belief is not reality
3. Belief is not reality. You may believe in God, but your belief has no more reality than that of the man who does not believe in God. Your belief is the result of your background, of your religion, of your fears, and the nonbelief of the communist and others is equally the result of their conditioning. ...
4. - Jiddu Krishnamurti 
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7. " You just have to believe in yourself!"
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9. It seems as though we have seen this platitude over and over in our lifetimes. It runs along the sayings such as....
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11. Follow your passions.
12. Follow your dreams.
13. Don't give up. 
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15. These are the inspirational memes and quotes beaten into our brains to try to motivate us and keep us on a track of positive thinking and productivity. Although the idea of believing in yourself can be comforting, it can lead to stunted inner growth. 
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17. What is yourself? 
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19. Well the self is a product of time. The self ties in heavily with ego. It ties in with the "I" and the "me". It relies on the possessive. You are talking about YOURSELF here! Do you own your self? 
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21. Are you your self? 
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23. The self is simply a part of you. It is an identifier. It is a construct. It is how we see ourselves. Now that we can see that, we can see that when become the witness to our self, we cease to wear the mask that is the self. 
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25. What would believing in yourself mean? 
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27. Well, let us take a look at belief. 
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30. What is belief? 
31. 1.
32. an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.
33. "his belief in the value of hard work"
34. 2.
35. trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something.
36. "a belief in democratic politics"
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39. synonyms:
40. faith, trust, reliance,confidence, credence
41. "belief in the value of hard work"
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43. ( taken from a google search ) 
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46. As we can see, a belief doesn't require any real logic, reason or evidence to legitimize itself. Much like the belief in a higher power. We can simply choose to believe things based on how we feel about it. 
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48. You can believe that karma exists without necessarily needing to prove that it exists. You can believe that everything happens for a reason. That is not a factual part of reality. Beliefs thrive on perspectives that comes from the self. Since the self is a culmination of past experiences, it creates a perception based on those experiences. It leads one to think in certain ways that will influence how they want to act or "believe" for the sake of the perpetuation of a future "self". 
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50. If one were to believe in one's self, they would be choosing to attach to a certain perspective that is unique and biased towards your own life experiences. You are essentially trying to achieve a means to an end by putting on an "act of believing yourself." 
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52. Why would you want to believe in yourself? 
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54. Most likely you are trying to achieve a certain goal or task that will happen in the future. 
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56. You want that promotion. 
57. You want to finish that book. 
58. You want to have a healthy relationship. 
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60. You tell yourself that all you have to do is to "believe in yourself." You leave it there. You don't question that stale platitude. You must have heard it from someone in the past. They might have told you that that is all you need. They might have just told you that as a quick answer to get you out of the way. It's Easy!  
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62. When you are in the present moment, does it matter if you believe yourself or not? 
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64. Think about it. 
65. Now, think about thinking about it. Beliefs are just floating thoughts, aren't they not?
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67. You are sitting on a rock and looking at the trees around you. They are beautiful, organic and serene. They give you an amazing feeling. You take a deep breath, close your eyes and connect with what is. 
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69. Do you need to believe in yourself to do what you just did? No. You did it without questioning whether you could do it or not. You disconnected from the self. You didn't try to label the trees. You didn't try to think about what you were going to eat for dinner. You were there, present and aware!
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71. So, since your self is an illusory concept, why would you choose to merely believe in what it is? You can certainly accept the self for what it is. That is being the witness. That is being aware of how your mind works. When you see the self for what it is, you can be curious, compassionate and willing to listen to what it has to say. You don't have to blindly believe what yourself says. That wouldn't let you grow. 
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73. One must consistently question the "self" in order to expand and grow. Instead of believing in yourself, look at yourself. Hold the mirror up to how your brain is working. Look at what is happening within you. When you can connect to the present and accept what is, believing holds no water. 
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75. Acceptance Over Beliefs. 
76. Presence brings joy. 
77. Your actions speak what you value. 
78. Beliefs can Divide. 
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80. DG
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83. "You believe in God, and another does not believe in God, so your beliefs separate you from each other. Belief throughout the world is organized as Hinduism, Buddhism, or Christianity, and so it divides man from man. We are confused, and we think that through belief we shall clear the confusion; that is, belief is superimposed on the confusion, and we hope that confusion will thereby be cleared away. But belief is merely an escape from the fact of confusion; it does not help us to face and to understand the fact but to run away from the confusion in which we are."- Jiddu Krishnamurti