We all have big dreams since we were child; We want to be famous movie stars, astronauts and sports superstars or may be some of you have dreamed to be a bureaucrat. We want to be someone who can make an impact or who is well known among peers, friends, relatives and extended family. But then we go out into the real world and face the harsh reality and soon realize that life is complex and hard. That brings us to a point where we have little or no confidence in ourselves.
You know the secret to building a strong character is to be humble. Having said that you will realise that it’s a tricky thing. It’s all great to have a healthy self esteem but you need to watch out for your ego. Life is full of contradictions! At one point something may sound simple and logical, and at the other something might not. By staying humble, it will be easy to move around through these contradictions, or at least, more than anything it will keep you down to earth.
As cliche it may sound – “to achieve what you want in life you will have to believe in yourself”. And once you have acquired that belief, you will have to be very mindful about the fact that whatever level you reach, you will have to maintain humility.
Here are some of the ways that you can build belief in yourself.
1. Take small steps / set smaller goals
There is a problem that we all repeat every time we sit down to do things. We need to take small steps at a time instead of a huge leap. Quite often what happens is, we usually keep a list of things that we need to do, which is a great thing because everyone needs a list. That’s what keeps us on track. But you also have to realize that the very same list can also make you feel overwhelmed.
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Sometimes you don’t need so much of information coming at you at a single point of time. Human brain can only process well with limited information. In that case, you just have to keep your list away from your sight, and focus on that small thing that you need to accomplish. Nothing big, just a small task which is easy to achieve. And when you accomplish it, you will start to feel good about yourself. That’s how you set a pace that pushes you forward and get things done.
2. Keep a track of your mind set
Part of human nature is to yield negative thoughts along with positive ones. Sometimes the sound of negative inner voice is louder than the positive ones. In such a case, all you have to do is pay attention to your mind. And start asking yourself why are you getting negative thoughts.
Now I am not asking you to be a mentalist. All you need to do is just bring your awareness towards this question – “why are you feeling negative about something”. Be honest to yourself no matter what the reason is. You don’t need to speak it out, or tell it to anyone. The moment you start being honest to yourself, you will realize that automatically your defense mechanism begins to intercept. Your brain will start showing you all the memories and proofs of times when you were positive, calm and poised. That’s another way to jump start a mechanism that will yield self belief.
3. Don’t shorten your lifespan on unnecessary thoughts
Life is short. It’s so fast, you only have 86,400 seconds in a day. What are you worried about? A second on a clock goes by with a tick. Most of the things that concern us are not really important. In fact, 95% of your thoughts will never become a reality in the next 5 years. Do not spend your life in a routine, where you are continuously thinking the same thing over and over again without reaching any conclusion. Most of your misery is in your head, remember that!
4. Contain your happiness, frustration, intelligence, anxiety (be neutral)
If you become successful, you will still have to work like crazy to realize that you are not that important. So don’t be a noisy, overconfident, idiotic prick. Have a nice blend of humility and self-esteem. You are never as good in life as you think when things are going well and you are never as bad as you think when they are not. We are all in the middle.