I didn’t wake up one day feeling confident.
I didn’t suddenly believe I had all the answers.
What I did do was get tired — tired of waiting for someone else to tell me I was enough. Tired of carrying the weight of doubt. Tired of second-guessing myself every time I had to make a decision.
I got tired of handing my power over — to people, to opinions, to fear.
And that’s where it started.
Not with a moment of inspiration, but with a quiet decision: This can’t be how I live anymore.
I had spent years looking outward for permission — asking others what I should do, how I should feel, or whether I was on the right path. Every time I ignored my inner knowing, I felt smaller. More distant from myself. More dependent on external validation.
But deep down, I did know. I always had.
Self-trust doesn’t arrive all at once. It’s not some lightning bolt that strikes and suddenly you believe in yourself forever. It’s a process. A relationship. A choice you have to make over and over again, especially on the days when it would be easier not to.
I started small — because that’s all I could manage at the time.
I trusted myself to say “no” when I meant no.
I trusted myself to take a break when I felt overwhelmed.
I trusted myself to try something new, even if I wasn’t perfect at it.
And I trusted myself to sit in the discomfort of not knowing — instead of rushing for answers from someone else.
Each time I made one of those small choices, something inside me grew stronger. Not louder — but steadier. I stopped looking at self-trust as a feeling and started treating it as an action. Something I could practice, like a muscle.
The truth is, trusting yourself isn’t about always being right. It’s about being willing to listen to your own voice, even when it feels shaky. It’s about choosing to believe that you can handle the outcome — whatever it may be. Even if you stumble. Even if you change your mind later.
There were days when I still doubted myself. There still are.
But I no longer let that doubt make my decisions for me.
Now, when fear shows up, I greet it with curiosity, not surrender.
When I feel unsure, I remind myself that clarity comes through action, not overthinking.
And when I fail — because I do — I remind myself that failure is not a sign I can’t be trusted. It’s a sign that I’m growing, stretching, trying.
Learning to trust myself has been one of the hardest and most healing journeys of my life. It didn’t come with fanfare. It didn’t come with a roadmap. It came one small, simple step at a time.
And those steps changed everything.
Because now, I don’t just hear my voice — I follow it.
I don’t wait for permission — I give it to myself.
And I don’t need to be perfect — I just need to be present.
So if you’re in that place I was — unsure, stuck, waiting — let this be your reminder:
You don’t have to have it all figured out.
You just have to take the next honest step.
And then another.
And then another.
That’s how self-trust is built.
That’s how you come home to yourself.
One small, simple, powerful step at a time.
https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/liveandlaugh