Self Belief and Respect

Belief in self, if accomplished is the biggest motivation that a man can have. But it is one of the most difficult things to achieve. To understand the word better let’s break down the two words: Self and Belief.
What is Self? This is an all important question that every one should ask to self. Every one in the world is selfish. They live for themselves. They do what they think is right. They act for the people they love. Even die for something they love the most. Every single act is carried by self is for self.
Yet most of us fail to realize the "real" self within. We chase for dreams that were never ours. We neglect the one we love, for nothing. We never bother to think what we really want. Knowing this "real" self is the first step to self Belief.
To be face to face with self, we need to shed all presumptions we have of ourselves. Introspect and only when you can completely vaporize the image of self, you will know your “real” self. There will be room for no one. You care for none. All your actions will only be for you. You live your ideology. Just you, your love your life.

Once you know “SELF”, let’s see what belief is. Simply put belief is unquestioned devotion. Where there are no doubts. So Self Respect is such a huge force that can defy impossible. Because first we know what we want and what our abilities are and then we know that we will achieve the target.

Respect, the other aspect is as important as self-belief. Respect here means respect to others, your friends and foe, strong and week, intelligent and dumb. Respect will help you in judging their strength. You understand them better. Apart from the interior benefits it makes you feel good and passes the same aroma around. It makes the world around you a better place to live.

"There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way." - Christopher Morley

I will start with a poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken (1915)

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


I leave the interpretation onto you, but what I will talk about is after the road is taken, whichever it is, wherever it has led you.

There are things we regret, moments we cherish, hate and love, depressed and enjoyed, we all have it, may be in a different order. And most often than not it is we who decide this order. Sometimes we come across a juncture where we have to make decision, where we have to choose.

• There are decisions that we regret for the rest of our life. Played upon by life, realize the web that it has woven, ensuring we never smile again. We find ourselves lacking the energy to fight back; sunk in the guilt of our actions, convinced we have no right to smile again.
• There are decisions we cherish. Look back upon it and know we have made the right choice. Praise our actions and ready for the next challenge in life.
  

This may not be the fate of two different people taking two different paths. It may well be the case when the decision taken is absolutely the same. The difference is in how we approached it. Life can play upon it only if we allow it to do so. We may gain from the insight and experience of others, but it is your life and no one else knows better what to do than yourself. We are humans and not Gods and hence have got a birth right to commit mistakes. Mistakes are as important as our daily meals.

The difference is in how we approach our mistakes, to accept mistakes and have the courage to say it as our own to whoever concerned. You at every step should know what you are doing and what your actions might do. Your actions might be driven by intellect or emotions, morality or lust but they are your own and you should ride on them rather than be driven on by them. Then there shall be no regrets, no tears. Just a realization of your actions. You may want to confess and perform actions that can redeem your self. But you should not repent. Remember it is the realization of your actions within that change the world around you that you live in.

People who are often on top of there actions are happier in life. Because irrespective of what they get, they know that it is the result of there own actions. These actions may not always give results as planned, in fact may go terribly bad. But instead of breaking down they look back, convinced to minimize the damage done, and act in a way that can better the situation or at least does not worsen in further. It is this ability to think when things are not going your way that distinct a person who plays with life to the one played upon.