“The success of our lives and our future depends on our motivation and determination or self confidence” His Holiness the Dalai Lama
As we have explored in earlier writings, we have an idea that not only are we a product of what we eat, but more importantly, we are a product of how and what we think!
I remember – a long time ago (1990!), I was going on an early morning fishing trip with my friends father, the father who was built like a WWE wrestler and shouted a lot. We were all terrified of him, even as young men in our early 20’s! So here we were, Mr Terrifying and I, 04h00 in the morning, cold and misty, paddling a tiny boat out on a strange lake in the grey light of dawn, discussing life and philosophy. The conversation centered around another friend of mine who was a gentle giant, but was totally lacking in confidence and as such, had no ambition and was going no where fast. We as students all used to tease him in a light hearted way, and never thought anything of it. My friends father made an interesting observation – he asked if we had noticed that the more we teased him about his inaction, the more inactive he became?
This was true, and I began to feel uncomfortable. My friends father told me how he had spoken to this young man’s father and found out that he was in therapy because of his parents divorce, and that we, his friends, were his only stability in his life at that time. He went onto say that we will learn in life that if you tell someone that they are XXXX often enough, they begin to believe it, and so that is who they become.
No shouting, no commotion from Mr Terrifying, just a subtle statement of fact that has stuck with me for over 20 years!
That simple conversation changed the way I interacted in the world, Interacted with myself and with others!
Ask yourself, with love;
Do you lack self confidence?
Who have you been told you are?
Who do you believe you are?
Do you know that you are unique and that anything is possible for you?
