Chapter 12
Confidence
Probably one of the most powerful tools that you can develop to help you
anywhere is confidence. We all know those people who are able to remain
confident even when things aren't going their way. As the proverb says, “As you
think, so it will be”. Confidence goes beyond just thinking positively in my
book it is about really believing, rather than merely thinking.
It is still strange how such a simple thing like confidence can be so hard to
achieve. So many aspects of our lives today abound in their ability to destroy
our confidence. Typically, we take these things on board ourselves and use them
against others ( albeit unknowingly most of the time ) in an effort to break
their confidence. “Why should they be confident if I can't?” would be the catch
cry. Basically, you're saying that it is too hard for your to change yourself
but much easier to throw stones at someone else.
Confidence, like most things worth attaining, is not something that can't be
gained over night. It needs to be worked on, nurtured and as I have said
previously - you have to keep training. Changing a human being's mindset is
probably one of the hardest challenges we face. Why? Look at the state of our
World. It is still filled with violence, wars and injustice to name but a few
examples. We all have the power to change these yet in many cases we let them
continue. We lack the confidence to stand up and let other know that something
should be done to help others, unselfishly. Why? Because we are too afraid of
what others might say. Confidence is being able to stand by your principles and
yet be ready to admit, when the time comes ( and it will ), that you were wrong.
It takes confidence to gracefully acknowledge that you have learned something
and that rather than weakening you it has actually made your stronger.
We hear it so many times but largely ignore the statement “life is too short”
until it is almost too late to do anything about it. A great statement I heard
recently was - “imagine what you could achieve if you weren't afraid”. The
ability to overcome the fear that constrains our lives is confidence but like
any muscle (physical or psychological) in the body we need to exercise it.
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