This theme has been up for me big time lately. It is one of the main things I help people with: guiding them to a place where they are their biggest advocate and cheerleader.

Because once you can believe in yourself so totally that you don’t need outside approval then real change happens. Nothing stands in your way.

Often, we are our biggest detractors.

Do you remember the book The Monster at the End of the Book? When I was four, it was one of my favorites. In it, Grover from Sesame Street talks on each page about how you can’t turn the page, because if you get to the end of the book, there will be a monster there.

The further along the book goes, the more adamant Grover gets: don’t turn the page!

But (spoiler alert!) when he gets to the end of the book, he realizes that the monster was…HIM!

This is a perfect metaphor for how we  sabotage ourselves.

We believe that some horrible, awful thing is waiting for us just around the corner, so we don’t take risks. And yet, probably the worst thing that happens is we meet ourselves.

And while we might see something we don’t like, we might also see a furry, blue, lovable being who just wants a hug.

Either way, it’s just us in all our imperfect beauty.

So, we have to believe in ourselves and trust that, even if we have to face a monster, we will survive.

To illustrate the point further, I’ll leave you with this amazing video. Click here to watch it.

This man, a disabled vet, was told he’d never walk on his own again. But he didn’t listen to that story. He faced his monster and he triumphed. He’s a shining example of not giving up on yourself.