Being your own cheerleader is, in my opinion, crucial in life! There are so many times where you have other cheerleaders to root for you and your endeavors. However, there are also so many instances where you are your only or loudest cheerleader. And guess what? No one likes a quiet cheerleader. When you think of cheerleaders, you think of them cheering loudly with a smile on their face.
You want the same thing when it comes to being there for yourself! You want to be cheering so loud that you can’t even hear anyone else’s criticism or just anyone else in general. So, I hope that these little lessons I’ve learned can help you!
Lesson #1 – Your “Give a Fucks” Should Be on Vacation
Do you know how many people ridiculed me for the ideas that I wanted to bring into fruition? A lot of freaking people! And guess what? If I had given into their ridicule, I would have never been able to accomplish all of the things that have brought me so many amazing memories. And those same people who said the idea was stupid, it wouldn’t work, etc. are the same people who shut their mouths when they saw my idea come to life.
When it comes to people and their capacity to visualize your dreams, it can sometimes be limited. It’s not your fault that their brain has a limited dreaming capacity for YOUR dreams. They are, after all, your dreams. Is it nice to have someone back up your idea? Yes, of course. But, if they don’t, that doesn’t mean that you have to abandon ship either.
So, what do you do? You don’t care! I know… easier said than done. But, you can’t have everyone’s opinions dictate the choices that you make in life. Because people who choose that life are those who have the biggest regrets in their life. They look back and have so many “what if” questions regarding their dreams and aspirations.
And you know what makes it the saddest… they most likely won’t be able to know what would have happened. They can’t go back in time and fix that. It’s just something that they have to live with and know that the opportunity window has passed.
Lesson #2 – Know that It’s Okay to Have a Bit of Doubt
Rooting for yourself doesn’t mean that you’re going to be 100% for sure that this is going to work out for you. There may be times where you are questioning how the heck this is going to work. But, that question shouldn’t stop you in your tracks. It should be a question that you allow time to answer for you. This question should be a small dot in your mind.
If this question is as big as a skyscraper, then I want you to ask yourself a question: why do I think that this accomplishment/goal is impossible? What aspect of this dream makes it seem as if this will never/most likely not work? Asking these questions will eventually lead you to a belief that you can then work on to make rooting for yourself a stronger effort.
When it comes to doubt from other people, I would say that it’s easy to just ignore what they say and continue on your path. However, if you’re repeating a certain doubt about something, then I would advise to dig deeper into that concept to attempt to uncover the subconscious thought that’s replaying in your mind.
Will that doubt just magically go away? Not always. But, as long as you’re putting effort to erase that doubt, redirect that doubt by making an affirmation, whatever works for you is the better option in my opinion. That way, that doubt won’t just become louder if you’re ignoring it in your own mind. And I would like to add that it’s better for someone to go into a challenge scared than let that fear stop them from pursuing what they truly want.
Lesson 3 – Every Cheerleader Has Their Own Favorite Chant/Affirmation
When I did cheerleading, I noticed that all of the cheerleaders either shared their favorite chant to say on the football field or they have a completely different one. But, I know that we all shared one thing: when we did our favorite chant, it felt like a boost of dopamine. That smile that we were told to put on by the coach was actually real when we did our favorite chants.
Well, it’s the same whenever you repeat the same affirmation to yourself. The affirmation that you repeat to yourself honestly depends on your liking to certain affirmations. You can use one that people have posted on the Internet, one that you’ve heard while outside a coffee shop, or you can just make up your own that’s specific for you.
And now… you just repeat that over and over and over again. Repeat that affirmation until it doesn’t feel weird to say anymore. Repeat that affirmation until you are able to say it to yourself whenever you’re having a doubt in your mind. Honestly, it may sound like it wouldn’t work, but repetition is KEY!
It’s like a drop of water that repeatedly drips onto a rock. You may look at the water droplet and think that it would never penetrate through that rock. But, if you give that drop of water time, you’ll soon see that there’s a dent in the rock. That dent then becomes a small hole. And, eventually, the water penetrates through that rock completely. It takes time, which I feel some people don’t want to hear.
But, it’s the truth. There are some things that may not have instantaneous results, but when you see the progress being made, I feel like that gives you such satisfaction. So, repeat those affirmations in your head! Nothing beats a will but a try.
Lesson #4 – Keep Some Dreams to Yourself!
Call me superstitious, but I don’t like to tell people my aspirations until everything has been completed. To me, it’s easier to keep those little details to yourself until those little details produce a picture. You may ask why, and I would say it’s because people’s opinions can get in the way! You could also say because of the evil eye.
If you don’t know what the evil eye is, I’ll quickly explain the concept. The evil eye is a Greek concept where someone becomes jealous of you and curses you via an evil glare and sends you bad luck. If you think that’s mumbo jumbo, then you can skip this. But, I truly believe that there are some things that you shouldn’t say to people until things are in motion and they can’t stop it.
It’s much easier to stop a train that’s picking up speed than a train that’s going full speed.
I remember when I told someone that I wanted to become a singer at one point in my life. I would look on YouTube for singing lessons. I would write my own songs (because I thought all singers did that). I would tell others because, I’m not going to lie, I wanted a bit of support. And, there were some people that were very supportive of what I wanted to do, and I loved it. But then, I told it to someone who, I didn’t know, but was known to be a dream crusher. I mentioned this dream to them, and not only did they crush it… they obliterated that dream.
Now, I will say that this person didn’t intentionally mean to crush my dream. It’s just the way that this person thinks. But after that, it felt like someone sucked all of the joy out of me. It took me a good couple of years for me to get over that moment. But, I did learn something from that moment: do NOT tell everyone your aspirations! Do it when it’s done. Do it when you’ve made it a step. Or, do it when you’ve completed that goal. But, do not tell everyone.
There are some people who crush dreams because theirs were crushed. There are others who crush people’s dreams just because they can’t see it. If you know there’s someone that you can tell them this dream and they’ll be there for you 100%, then go for it! If not, I would HIGHLY suggest that you keep that little secret to yourself… at least when there’s zero movement in that dream.
And, because of my experiences, including the singing one, I learned that it’s better for me to be my own cheerleader rather than just look for others cheerleaders to root for me. Is it nice to have.. Yes! But, I think that it feels so much better when it comes from yourself. Because you understand the grit, the effort, the time that it took to get there. And plus, this helps you be there for yourself much more consistently too! So, give it a try and audition to become your very own cheerleader!
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