Last

Ahmindro na para jigya id dhanam Na mrityavai va tasthe kadacan Somminma sunvanto yacata vasu Na me purvah sakhye rishathan - Rigveda 10/485

"I am Indra. I never face defeat. Death cannot overpower me. Those desirous of extracting somras should beseech me only. Friendliness with me can never be detrimental." One who wants to lead a fulfilling life should try to develop self-confidence, which is the only source of courage, success and victory. Those possessing self-confidence are capable of accomplishing anything. Difficulties, obstacles and hurdles can neither deter nor discourage them. On the contrary their courage multiplies thousand-fold during adverse circumstances. They always go on marching ahead with a positive attitude of achieving success. Circumstantial hindrances may sometimes compel them to stop or to retreat but they never get disheartened under such situations. They take a pause and restart their struggle with fresh agility and redoubled courage.

A self-confident man never accepts final failure and he never fails finally because of his confident will power. He firmly believes the grand truth of his identity as the undecaying, immortal, pious, enlightened and liberated soul. Being the child of the Almighty Lord he concretely feels himself to be the source of infinite powers. This very specific faith endows him with success in every noble endeavor. But this deep self-confidence should not give way to self- conceit. Both are entirely different. A self-conceited man attributes his success to his own mental and physical powers. Success puffs him up with pride while failure throws him into the dark dungeons of frustration. When an egotist person gets success, applause and honors he starts treating others with disdain. On the contrary, depression caused by failure starts pushing him towards cowardly suicidal tendencies.

Genuinely self-confident persons treat their achievements as godly gifts. They try their best to utilize their talents, prosperity and powers to relieve suffering pain and distress of the needy and the helpless. Their struggle for success becomes a process to cultivate and promote virtues while failures help them to identify their own deficiencies. They do not have a tendency to grab success, credit and fame by fair means or foul. All these automatically come to them because of their virtuous qualities and attributes.

How to develop self-confidence? The truth is that we go on molding ourselves according to our own perceptions. A man who thinks himself dust is definitely trampled upon. Everybody walks over dust but none moves over glowing coal. The persons who think themselves capable of doing the hardest of jobs and believe in their own capabilities create favorable circumstances all around them. The moment we firmly resolve to do a job, it is already half done; while habitually indolent people go on building castles in the air like a proverbial fool. Self-confident persons always ultimately achieve their goals.

Potential of a huge tree is always inherent in a small seed. This seed, when sown in fertile soil and is nurtured with proper manure and water sprouts up into a large shady tree. Similarly all possibilities lie dormant within us like seeds, which can be activated into sprouting with the water of discrimination and manure of virtuous thoughts. If we are able to touch and tap the unimaginable powers and capacities lying dormant within us we can very easily achieve the highest peaks of greatness.
While addressing a meeting of volunteers, Yugrishi reverend Gurudev outlined some specific guidelines for developing self-confidence. Practicing these guidelines in life anyone can achieve grand self-confidence. They are:
 
1. A firm belief and deep faith that we are immortal souls inseparable from the Supreme Spirit.
2. A belief that we dormantly contain all attributes of God  we have just to awaken them from dormancy into activation.
3. We are capable of executing the toughest of jobs provided it is in tune with the innate attributes and qualities of our soul and the Supreme Soul, because a self-confident person cannot do anything ignoble under any circumstances.
4. Even the hardest of situations of life are just a challenge and never a misfortune. Our courage should be resolutely awakened to meet the challenge.
5. Whatever we term as distress or difficulty is actually a means provided by God to awaken our will power and dormant capacities.
6. A truly self-confident man has three intrinsic qualities: determination, courage and a positive attitude of ultimate success. For him moments of struggle are welcome challenges, which develop his will power and strengthen his talents.
As regards obstructions in the path of awakening self-confidence Gurudev indicated the following factors:
 
1. Habit of worrying. Those who always worry can never be self-confident.
2. Envious nature. In fact one feels envy only when he considers himself inferior to others, while all of us being children of God are uniquely equal.
3. Doubts and suspicions do not let us concentrate and rely on us.
4. Those who suffer from fear of uncertainties and apprehensions always lack self-confidence. Get rid of these negative and enervating tendencies and inculcate the qualities of self-confidence and self-esteem.

Last