Our Rural Roots

Crank Up the Belief Gear

Why is it be so hard to believe in past success for fear of future failure, asks blogger Meredith Bernard, as she thinks about some of the decisions she's made and how they turned out. (Progressive Farmer photo by Meredith Bernard)

The hardest decisions I've made in life relied on me believing in my abilities to overcome obstacles unseen and unknown, and those that require finding a reliance on God to see me through.

Leaving my secure corporate job to come home to the farm and believing we could make it without the benefits we had become used to is one example. Another is starting a photography business after teaching myself the craft, then learning to call myself a professional while doubting my "right" to do so.

Taking a larger role on our farm may be the biggest. Doing things my husband has been doing a lifetime left me unsure I would be able to fill shoes I felt too small to wear.

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Looking back, I see all of those decisions were right for my family and me. And, even though none of it came easy, it's all come through.

Yet, more often than not, when I find myself in a position to make similar decisions, I still go through the same process of insecurity. Can I really succeed at this thing on my heart I feel led to do? What if I don't? If hindsight is 20/20, why is it be so hard to believe in past success for fear of future failure?

The more I take these leaps of faith, the more I realize it's the doing it all that matters. So what if we fail? We learn more through trying than never trying at all.

I recently took another plunge of faith that I almost let fear stop. I'm still not sure it will be a huge success; the first step was the only step toward knowing.

Only after we crank up our belief in ourselves enough to get the engine going do we ever see how far we can run.

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Editor's Note: Meredith Bernard blogs and dives into exciting new projects from her North Carolina family farm.

Follow Meredith on Twitter at @thisfarmwife, and visit her website at thisfarmwife.com.

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