Fuel Yourself, believe in yourself

Engine of success are basically believed to be composed of hard work, dedication and discipline. But, what about the fuel?

Self-belief is that fuel which charges us from inside and makes us believe our work and dedication is taking in a direction worth giving our time for. If you don’t believe in your abilities, who will and why should they? I have seen so many people wasting their skills and talents, self-doubt is a termite eating away many lives, and without self-belief we are like an open tap without container.

At the same time, if the container overflows, some of the capable volume is also lost. This is what results in narcism, superiority complex and having unrealistic expectations and targets. When the limits of self- confidence cross to over- confidence, there is depression, anxiety, stress of failures etc. The negative effects not only come where there is too much of fuel over-flowing but also when we have enough fuel and don’t run the engine. The engine and fuel together when they work hand in hand, we achieve our success destination.

Root cause of the entire problem is, we are “expected” to achieve accomplishments before even we know our strengths and weaknesses. If we are not able to achieve it that failure becomes the root of weakness. Sometimes, the encouragement on success turns out to be a stop point and a root for superiority complex, which becomes another weakness. Whenever I walk into my training sessions and ask participants how many of you know your strengths I hardly see any show of hands, and when I flip the question and ask how many know your weaknesses most of the people put up their hands. I am tempted to put the blame on schools for only emphasising and pointing at our weaknesses, deep down it’s just not the problem with schools or parents. We are so consumed by our weakness; we don’t let our strengths surface. The balance between the two is done with the identification of strengths and weaknesses and their levels.

Individuals can only bridge the gap of ability vs. capability, playing by his/her strengths and having at-most faith on one’s self. We all need to take a purposeful journey within and do a deep introspection of our strengths and abilities. Work on your weaknesses, face them and overcome them, and have a long list of strengths, which can forecast on your future opportunities.

Anyone who finds clarity on the extremes can pick a career to excel and a life full of happiness and containment.