Believe in Yourself

Reading the 'Power of Positive Thinking' by Norman Vincent Peale is a great read and wanted to share some of his book.

It is appalling to realize the number of pathetic people who are hampered and made miserable by the malady popularly called the inferiority complex.  But you need not suffer from this trouble.  When proper steps are taken, it can be overcome.  You can develop creative faith in yourself - faith that is justified.

I (Peale) found the solution of this problem in the simple techniques of faith taught in the Bible.  These principles are scientific and sound and can heal any personality of the pain of inferiority feelings.  Their use can enable the sufferer to find and release the powers which have been inhibited by a feeling of inadequacy.

Such are some of the sources of the inferiority complex which erect power barriers in our personalities.  It is some emotional violence done to us in childhood, or the consequences of certain circumstances, or something we did to ourselves.  This malady arises out of the misty past in the dim recesses of our personalities.

The greatest secret for eliminating the inferiority complex, which is another term for deep and profound self-doubt, is to fill your mind to overflowing with faith.  Develop a tremendous faith in God and that will give you a humble yet soundly realistic faith in yourself.

The acquiring of dynamic faith is accomplished by prayer, lots of prayer, by reading and mentally absorbing the Bible and by practicing its faith techniques, but wanted to point out here that the type of prayer that produces the quality of faith required to eliminate inferiority is of a particular nature.  Surface skimming, formalistic and perfunctory prayer is not sufficiently powerful.

To build up feeling of self-confidence the practice of suggesting confidence concepts to your mind is very effective.  If your mind is obsessed by thought of insecurity and inadequacy it is, of course, due to the fact that such ideas have dominated your thinking over a long period of time.  Another and more positive pattern of ideas must be given the mind,, and that is accomplished by repetitive suggestion of confidence ideas.  In the busy activities of daily existence thought disciplining is required if your are to re-educate the mind and make of it a power-producing plant.  It is possible, even in the midst of your daily work, to drive confident thought into consciousness.

We build up the feeling of insecurity or security by how we think.  If in our thoughts we constantly fix attention upon sinister expectations of dire events that might happen, the result will be constantly to feel insecure.  And what is even more serious is the tendency to create, by the power of thought, the very condition we fear.

Lack of self-confidence apparently is one of the great problems besetting people today.

The blows of life, the accumulation f difficulties, the multiplication of problems tend to sap energy and leave you spent and discouraged.  In such a condition the true status of your power is often obscured, and a person yields to a discouragement that is not justified by the facts.  It is vitally essential to re-appraise your personality assets.

One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is actually with you and helping you.   This is one of the simplest teachings in religion, namely, the Almighty God will be your companion, will stand by you, help you, and see you through.  No other idea is as powerful in developing self-confidence as this simple belief when practiced.  To practice it simply affirm "God is with me; God is helping me; God is guiding me."  Spend several minutes each day visualizing His presence.  Then practice believing that affirmation.  Go about your business on the assumption that what you have affirmed and visualized is true.  Affirm it, visualize it, believe it, and it will actualize itself.  The release of power which this procedure stimulates will astonish you.

Feelings of confidence depend upon the type of thoughts that habitually occupy your mind.  Think defeat and you are bound to feel defeated.  But practice thinking confident thoughts, make it a dominating habit, and you will develop such a strong sense of capacity that regardless of what difficulties arise you will be able to overcome them.  Feelings of confidence actually induce increased strength.

The secret is to fill your mind with thought of faith, confidence, and security.  This will force out or expel all thought of doubt, all lack of confidence.