Four words that change you and them.
I believe in you.
Four little words that I find more powerful than I love you.
I love you is a gift, but also a given in many circumstances.
Parents say I love you to their babies.
People say I love you to other people’s babies.
We say I love you to our families, to our friends, to our pets.
We even say I love you to our homes.
Love arises from attachment to things or people.
But, belief? That’s different.
Love is blind. Belief is not.
Love is given. Belief is earned.
Love spurs emotion. Belief spurs action.
Love is based on feeling. Belief is based on evidence.
Love makes someone feel warm. Belief makes someone feel worthy.
Belief is the trust or confidence in a person’s ability to do something.
Belief is energy.
Belief is tangible.
Belief is potential.
Belief is respect.
Belief is motivation.
Belief is an attitude-changer.
Belief can make the impossible, possible.
I believe in you.
Four little words that can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
But, you have to mean it when you say it.
People can smell fake, lip-service belief from a mile away. If you believe in someone, you have to back your belief with concrete, genuine, meaningful action. You have to be willing to couple your reputation, your character, and your destiny to theirs.
The beauty of I believe in you is that it changes both parties. It obviously changes the recipient of your belief. When you express it, show it, feel it, and mean it, the recipient stands a little taller and their self-confidence grows. What’s more interesting thing is that, when you believe it and say it, it changes you. You become invested in someone else. You start to look beyond yourself, and you look out for someone else. Their success becomes personal to you. Their challenges become personal to you. Their journey is intertwined with your journey. Their causes become yours. Their worries become yours. It’s a beautiful thing, this inner transformation, as it’s the start of selfless, genuine leadership, in service of another person’s growth.
So, believe in the people you get to work with. Go to bat for them. Throw your reputation behind them. Expend energy and time on them, with conviction in your gut. Believe fully. Believe in an all-in, full-throated way. Believe with your heart in it, and your mind behind it. Believe through their highs and lows. Just, believe. And, tell them.
Say, I believe in you. If you mean it, they will feel it.
And, you’ll see the magic unfold—in them, and in yourself.
You’re welcome.
