Priming Potential: The Power of Self-Belief

Dear Desert and Sea Readers,

Continuing from my last letter, Embracing Inner Strength, let’s give attention to one of the main pieces of advice given to me: “Believe in yourself…” In the book Desert and Sea: A Memoir, you, the reader, share in a journey of transformation—one fueled by the unstoppable force of self-belief. You have, perhaps, compared in contrast your own assertions of belief and doubt of self as you read along.  However, you likely discovered the voice inside telling you that in every challenge lies an opportunity, and at the heart of every success story is someone who dared to believe in themselves. Throughout the book, you undoubtedly witnessed and shared in events that would have been sensible reasons to quit or give up, but perhaps you told yourself, “if he/they overcame or survived, so can I.” 

“Believe You Can, and You’re Halfway There” – Theodore Roosevelt

Self-belief is more than just confidence; it’s the unwavering trust in your abilities, dreams, and purpose. It’s what propels ordinary people to achieve extraordinary feats, turning “I can’t” into “I will.” Affirming your purpose and taking charge of your personal power is more important than asserting that faith will get you there.  There were times in my life where I thought I didn’t have it in me to be all that I envisioned, spaces where doubt overcame me, but in those times, I practiced the following actionable refuters: 

• Reflect on Your Wins:
  • Create a “Victory Journal”. Write down three personal wins each day, big or small. Most do not know how great they are because we dismiss/don’t mind the little great things we do every day.

• Positive Self-Talk:
  • Replace “I’m not good enough” with “I am capable and worthy of success.” Acknowledge that there are obstacles and create a maneuver plan.
  • Start your day with affirmations like, “I have the power to create change.” Believe it and make some kind of change, even if it’s turning another’s frown around.

• Set Micro Goals:
  • Break large goals into bite-sized tasks. Each accomplishment boosts your belief. 
  • Celebrate every milestone—progress is progress. Think of the mile markers on the highway, especially the ones that tell you how far you’ve got to go and how far you’ve traveled, and particularly the ones that say “almost here…”

• Surround Yourself with Positivity:
  • “Positive people to positive people are oxygen to your driving fire.” With enough positive reinforcement, you will be able to tolerate negative people and/ or events without breaking. 
  • Connect with individuals who uplift, inspire, and challenge you to grow. I would like to focus on the last part, people who will challenge you. If you don’t have people around you to give you the proverbial kick in the pants when you need it, then you don’t have a developmental cultivator in your corner.

• Embrace Failure as Growth:
  • Failure is always possible; sometimes you can’t plan for it, and you can plan against it, and it will show up. What matters isn’t that it showed up despite your best efforts, but what you learn from the opportunity it presents will gain you more in wisdom than had it not.
  • Shift your mindset: Mistakes are lessons, not limitations.

Your Moment is Now

Self-belief isn’t about perfection; it’s about progress. It’s standing tall in the face of doubt and whispering to yourself, “I’ve got this.” 

So, what’s that dream you’ve been holding back?

Dare to believe. Dare to achieve.

With unstoppable belief,

Tshombe Sekou

P.S. I’ve begun the work on book 2 of 4 in the Desert and Sea series to be released in 2026.