The Belief in Oneself

Hello again.
I am posting after a long time interval, thanks to exams and journeys out of station, but here I am, back with another post, and with a new beginning taking place.

If you are a school student, and not in 10th or 12th grade, then you are probably going to, or have already started a new session. You must be excited, with new friends, new teachers, new books, and so much more that is new and fresh for you, isn't it? With this new beginning, I am going to share a value that holds a lot of importance, and is decisive in today's world.

You all must be watching cricket, or even playing it. Remember the dark time after the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, when Indian cricket team was blown to tatters after being knocked out of the championship in the group stage itself? The team faced severe humiliation, and many people went all out, criticizing the team and challenging their skills and the efforts put by them. Having some of the greatest players in the world, and losing despite that, was a big setback for the team.

Nevertheless, the out-of-form players practiced a lot, tried to get back to their usual self. But the most decisive thing was, that they believed in themselves. They never lost faith in their abilities and they knew, that they can win again - they can once again take the team to the position where it was. This faith, or belief, is always an enormous factor in deciding the course of events. Eventually, the Indian team went on to win the Twenty20 World Cup that year.

So, never forget, that whatever the circumstances, never lose the faith you have in yourself. You are no less than anyone else out there. What matters is not what others think of you, but what you think of yourself.

See you all soon.

The difference between Can and Can't

Hi Friends, I'm back again.

Let's get back to our discussion. We started our journey towards success two posts previously, and discussed an essential quality in the subsequent post also - the clarity of vision and goals. Now, we'll once again embark on the magical journey and talk about another very important aspect of successful people - their outlook, the way they look at life.

This is a quality which is understood as making the difference in capabilities. What I believe is, the difference is not in capabilities; this quality marks the distinction between those who realize their potential and commit to their goals to reach the best possible level, and those who don't have the confidence to go beyond their expectations. It marks the line that separates independent and courageous people from fearful and unsure people. That's why, it is very essential, if one wants to perform to his/her optimum.

All of you must have heard, "have a positive outlook towards life" or "always try and be optimistic", isn't it? Yes, it is this virtue of positive outlook that makes a very vital difference between a winner and a person who just missed the victory. The fact is, good and bad things happen to each one of us. Still, some come out successful while some don't. The reason lies in the truth that what decides your destiny is not the circumstances faced by you, but how you react to those circumstances.

Let's talk with examples. Just suppose that there are two managers of different departments in a company. Once, one of the departments failed to live up to its expectations. The results were far below as compared to the previous quarter. The manager of that department felt that he was the one at error and that his administration had gone inefficient, which led to the debacle. He started feeling guilty all the time and was never happy or satisfied after that. As a result, he left the company.

A year later, the department belonging to the second manager suffered a downturn. The sales went down drastically. But then, the manager demanded the statistics of the previous quarter and accessed the situation with a cool head. He recognized his mistakes and charted out plans to rub them out in the time to come. Thus, the next time, he employed his work force more efficiently, worked towards improving upon his mistakes. And the next time, his department flourished and the results were the proof of that success. As a result, the manager got promoted.

This example illustrates the power of optimism very clearly. If we can take out the positives of every situation, we can always think clearly for going better than what the circumstances might force us. Life is full of ups and downs, and one down doesn't essentially mean that we are not capable. It just means that there are better times to come - a big success is just round the corner! Trust me, I have experienced this very well, personally!!

Failures teach us every way we can commit a mistake, so that the next time, we avoid that way. In this way, they help us become better and better.