'I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching you this year and I know how hard you have all worked to prepare for this test. 'I am well aware of how much pressure you are under and because I know you are all capable of understanding this material, I am prepared to offer an automatic 'B' to anyone who would prefer not to take the final.'The relief was audible as a number of students thanked the professor and left the class. The professor looked at the remaining students, 'Any other takers? This is your last chance.' One more student decided to go.
Seven students remained. The professor closed the door and took attendance. Then he handed out the final exam. There were two sentences typed on the paper:
'Congratulations, you have just received an 'A' in this class.
Keep believing in yourself.'I never had a professor who gave a test like that. It may seem like a quick way to get out of marking exams, but it's a test that any teacher in any discipline could and maybe should give. Students who don't have confidence in what they've learned are 'B' students at best.
The same is true for students of real life. The 'A' students are those who believe in what they're doing because they've learned from both successes and failures. They've absorbed life's lessons, whether from formal education or the school of hard knocks, and have become better people.
These are the people who you look for when you're hiring or promoting, and the ones you keep if you're downsizing. Your organisation needs their brand of thinking.
Psychologists say that by the age of two, 50 percent of what we ever believe about ourselves has been formed; by age six, 60 percent, and at eight years, 80 percent. Wouldn't you love to have the energy and optimism of a child? There is nothing you couldn't do or learn or be.
But you're a grown-up now, and you realise you have some limits. Don't let the biggest limit be yourself. As Sir Edmund Hillary said:
'It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.'
Believing in yourself comes from knowing what you are really capable of doing. You may not succeed every time, but if you believe in what you are capable of, you will get there at some time.
Surround yourself with positive people - they know the importance of confidence and will help you keep focused on what you can do instead of what you can't. Who you surround yourself with is who you become.
Never stop learning! It's SO important. Don't limit yourself only to work-related classes, either. Learn everything about every subject that you can. When you know what you're talking about, it shows.
Be very careful not to confuse confidence with a big ego. If you want people to believe in you, you also have to believe in them. Understand well that those around you also have much to contribute, and they deserve your support. Without faith in yourself and others, success is impossible.
At the end of a particularly frustrating practice one-day, a football coach dismissed his players by yelling, 'Now all you idiots, go take a shower!' All but one player headed toward the locker room. The coach glared at him and asked why he was still there.
'You told all the idiots to go, Sir,' the player replied, 'and there sure seems to be a lot of them. But I am not an idiot.'
Confident? You bet. And smart enough to coach that team some day.
Moral: Believe in yourself, even when no one else does.
Questions for you:
What can you achieve today by believing that you can?
What can your employees achieve today when you show you believe that they are capable?
What single thing can you change to enhance your self belief?
(from an article by Harvey Mackay, Author of the New York Times bestseller - Pushing The Envelope.)
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