Any power, strength, faculty or ability that we possess as human beings, mental or physical, can be strengthened by repetition and increased usage. Conversely, opposite occurs when we do just opposite and stop using our abilities. When our faculties are relieved from being needed and required to function and are no longer used body realizes this and allows something to happen called "atrophy" which comes from Greek for "shrinking". This results in a loss of function. It happens to physical such as strength, reflexes, balance, stamina, coordination, etc. and mental such as arithmetic, percentages, planning, problem solving decision-making, judgment, etc.

While going through life we drop doing things one by one, especially physical, while we are caught up in having too much to do. The biggest change comes when we retire at which time we no longer have to use our mental faculties as well as physical ones. If we allow ourselves to sink into an inactive state we can end up in a sorry state in later life and we've all seen examples of this. Our powers do "atrophy".

We can do something about this. Remember two reasons for deterioration: process of aging and decrease in usage. The process of aging cannot be stopped but perhaps it can be slowed. The loss of abilities due to decreased usage is where we can really make a difference.

Let's call it our "opinions" of ourselves. They take many forms, we have an opinion of ourselves in every aspect of our lives; how we look, how well we speak, think, walk, work, dress, make love, treat others, etc., etc. These opinions, not being obvious, require some honest inward thinking (introspection) to ascertain their nature.

One of best clues we can use to recognize nature of these opinions is to first look at results. Do we dress in a sloppy way because we believe we don't deserve to look neat? Do we avoid applying for that better job because we believe we don't measure up? Do we refrain from asking that attractive person for a date because we believe we are not attractive enough? Do we not speak out because we believe our thoughts are not interesting to others?

Beliefs, though natural and not dictated by our conscious minds, can be changed. Opinions are formed by observed evidence so all we need to do is provide some evidence to contrary and our natural common sense takes over and makes change for better.