SELF-CONFIENCE

By Our Special Correspondent

The dictionary defines the term “self-confidence” as having full belief and trust in one’s self. It also means self-esteem, self-respect or self-belief. Self-confidence is one of the most desirable attributes of a good and strong personality. It generates a feeling in one’s self that. “I can do it too”. It helps you overcome doubts, banish fears and create a healthy attitude towards everything in life. According to Samuel Johnson, “Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.” Self-confidence is thus the supreme guiding force for a person’s onward march towards betterment and a successful career. It forms the bedrock of a man’s character, and a strong and firm personality. One who possesses self-confidence can speak assertively and do anything with steadfast self-determination, self-assurance and self-asser-tion.

Having emphasised the importance of this abstract psychological characteristic, the question which now arises is: how should you inculcate it? As has been repeatedly mentioned, this book is designed to help you to come out successful in an interview and not merely to tell you what an interview is and what is required of you. Let us now see how this important attribute of personality can be developed.

How to develop self-confidence

Undoubtedly, self-confidence cannot be developed overnight, but many psychologists have given elaborate prescriptions for it which have helped several people achieve it. You too can develop self-confidence by following these simple guidelines:

·The antonym of confidence is fear. Fear can be violent and crippling. It robs you of courage and cripples your reasoning power. It adds to tension and leads to a phobia that contributes towards failure. You need courage and confidence to overcome fear. Therefore, remove fear from your personality. As Bertrand Russell puts it, “It is fear that holds men back—fear lest they should prove less worthy of respect than they have supposed to be.”

·“Self-confidence” and “will” are co-related. Success comes to you only through your will power to succeed. Goethe has correctly said “He who is of firm will moulds the world to himself.” Failure results when your will-power is not strong enough. Therefore, cultivate the habit of a strong will and depict self-confidence—then you are sure to win the battle. Victor Hugo has said: “People do not lack strength; they lack will.”

·A positive attitude is a pre-requisite for self-confidence. It can be seen in sentences such as these:

“I am sure, sir.”

“I feel confident about it, sir.”

“I have every reason to believe so.”

“Yes, I am willing to take the risk.”

“I have full confidence in myself.”

·Develop your mental attitude in such a way that you have no fear and you can do it without any problem. The feeling that “I can do it too” stems from a positive attitude to life. It is the talisman for shunning fear and bringing self-confidence in you. Walter Dill Scot has rightly said: “No condition or set of circumstances is in itself a calamity to be feared. It is our reaction to it that makes it a ‘Waterloo’ or a field of triumph. Success or failure in business is caused more by mental attitudes than by mental capacities.”

·Try to know your shortcomings and overcome them. If you are shy or suffer from any kind of complexes, you can get rid of these by practicing the very opposite attitudes, i.e. courage and confidence, and by trying to be social. Try to remove your inferiority complex. This can be done by socializing with people.

The example below will illustrate what is meant by self-confidence.

Gail Devers’ example of self-confidence

A real-life example of how self-confidence reduces chances of failure and promises success was witnessed in the 1992 Olympic Games held at Barcelona, Spain. Ms. Gail Devers, in what possibly was the most hotly contested 100 m women’s event ever, defeated the rest of the crowd by a mere 6 / 100th of a second. This victory was, in fact, quite an achievement for Devers considering that she was suffering from Graves disease and was unable to even walk till February 1991. Doctors were contemplating amputation of both her legs but Devers’ self-confidence and will helped her to win the gold medal. After winning the gold medal, Devers said: “A year and-a-half ago I was on my knees and couldn’t walk. Now I’ve got a gold medal. I think if you have faith, you can do anything.