Self-Confidence Articles

Here is my complete list of articles on Self-Connfidence. Click on the title of any article to see its complete text. Comments arer welcome

Ideals -- Moving Forward with Freedom - Journeys inspired by ideals are assured of success. But so many journeys are nothing but aimless wanderings. Some of us have a map. Some of us don’t. Some of us make progress towards our destination everyday. Some us seem to forever be diverged from where it is we want to go. What creates this difference? It’s simple: Every purpose under the sun, and the goal of every journey, can best be realized by an application of spiritual law. The primary requisite of spiritual law is to be connected to the source, which assures the steady influx of the infinite energies of the universal mind. Just as a computer will be of no avail to the greatest of computer minds if it is not connected to a power source, so it is with applying spiritual laws. Even the greatest metaphysician will make no progress if he is not connected to the source of power, the source of being. Sever a flower from its root and it will wither.

The Path of Success - Everybody starts out on the path of success for everyone starts out seeking something in life. Unfortunately for many, their seeking ends in failure. They might start out with gusto and passion but fail because they didn't balance the passion with knowledge. Today, too many people believe that if they can visualize success, they will have it. But what they don't realize is that they will fail if they don't take the required steps in learning about the path they are setting upon. You can have a boat and a desire to sail to Lihue, Hawaii, but if you don't know how to sail or navigate, you won't get there.

Self-Confidence -- Knowing the Self - I have been on both sides of the continuum on self-confidence. I remember being so nervous speaking in front of one of my college classes that the teacher forced me to enroll in speech therapy. But a few years later I was regularly winning speech contests in Toastmasters in the Los Angeles area. I even gave a lecture at the First Metaphysical Congress at the Santa Ana Convention Center.

Believe in Yourself - I saw a billboard on the way home from our vacation that said "Believe in Yourself - pass it on." I can't remember ever seeing a more helpful message on a billboard in my life. What a great message. It creates all kinds of possibilities. Doors open that normally stay closed. Worries disappear. Productivity soars. Enthusiasm for greatness builds with each success. There are no limits to what you can achieve.

Fear of Success - Try this experiment. Say yes to every request and every invitation you receive in the next 24 hours that is conducive to life and is legal. If someone at a bar asks you to dance, say yes. If someone invites you to give a talk at his or her son's high school about your career, say yes. If someone asks you to marry him or her, say yes. If someone invites you to march for peace, say yes. You get the idea.

Giving Up Power - Giving up power to other people in how we live our lives seems like a universal truism. I heard a joke the other night that underscores it perfectly. The joke was about a very elderly Jewish couple-both 95 years old. They go to the court house to get a divorce. The judge, in a state of disbelief, asks them what on Earth prompted them to get a divorce at this age. They tell him they had to wait for the last of their children to die.

Protecting Yourself from Toxic Energy - Toxic energy is hard to overcome. If you are trying to create something of beauty, or reach a goal, it is almost impossible to reach it in a toxic environment. Just ask any recovering alcoholic in the AA program. They will share with you of their constant effort to keep their focus on their higher power. They will also tell you that they don't hang around with the same old crowd of drinking buddies. They don't want to have their energy pulled down.

A Rewriting of Life - Was it a rewriting of life that made Napoleon exhibit the boldness that was so characteristic of Napoleon? It was the story he told himself about himself. If he bought into the truth that he was an insignificant little man of five-feet-four, he might have been content to be a shoeshine boy. Here is part of his story: "My hand of iron was not at the extremity of my arm, it was immediately connected with my head." That is a story illustrative of firm resolve and bold leadership. No allowance in him of wavering decisions.

You're a Goddamned Genius! - There is a scene in the movie Forest Gump when the mentally retarded Forrest is in basic training with the U.S. Army: Drill Sergeant: Gump! What's your sole purpose in this army? Forrest Gump: To do whatever you tell me, drill sergeant! Drill Sergeant: God damn it, Gump! You're a goddamned genius! This is the most outstanding answer I have ever heard. You must have a goddamn I.Q. of 160. You are goddamned gifted, Private Gump. Well guess what? You're a genius too.

Hero or Heretic? - Is there a difference between a hero and a heretic? Or between heroism and heresy? They all are derived from the Greek word, hairétikos, which means "able to choose." Are you content to stay within the indicated bounds? What if real love is at stake? If you fell in love with somebody, so deeply in love that you couldn't even sleep at night because of the pain of longing, and you were told by your parents, or religious authorities, that you couldn't continue the relationship because of a difference in religion, what would you do? Do you follow the indicated bounds or do you follow the dictates of your heart?

Confidence - Can you imagine the frustration and boredom that JFK would have experienced if he decided to be a soybean farmer? What if Picasso decided to become a barber? People's haircuts would be pretty strange looking.

Not Buying The Thought - The cognitive defusion techniques given in the book, Get Out of Your Mind & Into Your Life, are excellent tools for bringing consciousness into our thought processes. It fosters awareness. It serves the purpose of a scissors cutting a rope that has us bound in captivity. Not only does it help undo the past conditioning, but it also shows ways of thinking and how to observe the thought process so that you don’t create further entanglements. The harsh things we say to ourselves can be so believable unless we can get some distance.