"I don't think this is possible". "This is so much work, we are not going to finish this in time". "I don't think I'm capable".
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How many times we hear people talking about the difficulty, lack of capability, in finishing up some task? How many times have we been in situations, where we used such phrases? I bet every other day. And yet, we keep coming across even more difficult tasks, just to keep reminding ourselves that we are going to fail again.
Have we ever asked ourselves if this is simply lack of capability, or lack of belief? At this point, some people might say lack of capability results in lack of belief. But I would like to differ. It's the lack of belief which results in lack of capability. Confused? Let me explain.
All of us possess multiple levels of mind (as explained by Sigmund Freud in his famous theory), of which conscious and subconscious are most prominent. Conscious mind is about our current awareness. The subconscious mind on the other hand is like a reservoir of thoughts and experiences received from the conscious mind. Your subconscious mind does not possess the power to question or reason against the instructions received from your conscious mind. All it does is accept the information as is, and then make sure your body functions in accordance with the information provided. This is why when you start eating your dinner at a specific time everyday, your subconscious mind stores this information for you, and sends you a reminder (in the form of hunger) when it's dinner time.
Subconscious mind doesn't only stores information about your daily habits. It also keeps track of things you do once in a while, and uses it when it deems appropriate. For example, when you touch a hot pan, conscious mind reacts by pulling your hand off the pan, and subconscious mind uses this information to learn not to touch a hot pan. Similarly, when your conscious mind says how difficult a task is, or believes that you are not capable enough, your subconscious mind stores that information as well. Whenever you take up that task, it reminds you the same thing again and again. Unknowingly, you programmed your brain in such a way that you are bound to fail. And this doesn't stop here. The failure makes your belief even stronger, resulting in more and more failures.
Now, imagine if you would have used words like "This looks tough, but not impossible", or "I don't know this right now, but I can surely learn and get this done". Your subconscious mind would keep reminding you that it's not impossible, and you can learn and get this done.
This is where the power of "belief" lies. It can either give you the head start you need, or pull you down before the race starts. All you need to do is start believing in yourself!