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Things To Consider Today By Leland Pulley

Confidence Brings Rewards

Recently I went to see the movie about Rocky Balboa, starring Sylvester Stallone. It was about a middle age man who had left boxing years earlier. His wife was now dead. His grown son worked for a large company rather than with his dad. A heavy weight champion was winning and needed someone to take him on and knock him down a few pegs. Ultimately, Rocky decided to take on the challenge. His son tried to persuade him not to do this. Dad and son had several talks and eventually the son accepted Rocky's advice to accept his own challenge, which was to make more of himself and do what he needed to be happy and successful. There was also a woman with a low paying job who rocky knew when she was growing up. He began to help her out and got her to work for him. Eventually, she too began to change. Her self-image improved and her confidence went up. She, like the son, questioned whether Rocky should fight the current champion, but she eventually put her support behind Rocky’s decision. Ultimately Rocky, the son, the woman, and many others who knew Rocky watched a terrific fight. Rocky gave his best and ended up teaching some humility to the champion. The positive changes in Rocky, his son, the woman, and even the champion is what made the movie so good. It had more story to it than I had anticipated. Perhaps the most important theme in the movie was confidence. It demonstrated how confidence helps us in so many ways and how it can be instilled in others if they are receptive to our influence.

Having confidence in yourself and others plays a big part in our lives. It determines to a large degree whether you’ll be successful in most of your endeavors. Everyone needs confidence and the more you have the better.

The word confidence refers to many things.

•You believe in yourself and your abilities to do things. You have the knowledge and skills to do what needs to be done, and you follow through and do it. You are capable. You have accomplished things in the past and now have more confidence to try more challenging things in the future. (Rocky knew he could fight and was willing to take on a new challenge.)
•You do things on a consistent basis, which sustains self-confidence. Your are reliable in your own mind and in the minds of others too. (Rocky had friends and fans.)
•You are honest with yourself and in your dealings with others. People trust you. (Rocky had to search inside to see if he was doing the right thing for the right reason.)
•You are experienced. Wisdom has been gained and good judgment has been developed. These things help you to make good choices. You can see the difference between right and wrong and will choose the right. This is why people have faith in you and will follow you. (It was a tough choice to make, but Rocky made it.)
•As you develop self-discipline, you gain confidence in yourself to run your life.

Just as you have confidence in yourself and those you know, you should have confidence in other things too. You can have confidence in your car to get you to a destination, especially if you service and maintain it properly. You can have confidence in a business you operate when you learn how to run that type of business. You may have confidence in certain stocks, after learning about them, and thus you’ll invest in them. You should have confidence in your employer that he will treat you fairly and operate the business successfully. You should have confidence in government at various levels. This helps you to abide by their decisions, obey the laws made, and pay your taxes. You should have confidence in God and His counsel to lead and guide you in life. This encourages you to pray and obey His laws.

In essence, confidence allows us to take on new tasks, face new challenges, and meet new people. We are ready to learn new things and develop new skills. We will listen to the views of others without having feelings of fear or insecurity, nor having our own positions or beliefs being threatened. We will take some reasonable risks to get ahead or improve our situation in life or to help others. Confidence is necessary for a happy life.

Being confident does not imply we should be over confident. A person who is overconfident often does things too fast and makes more mistakes. He doesn’t always listen to the good ideas and wisdom given by others. This leads to negative consequences for himself and others he may influence directly or though his decisions.

Confidence should not lead to pride. A proud person is not humble or teachable, and he boasts too much in his own skills and abilities. He overestimates his strengths and underestimates his weaknesses. By the time he fully discovers this, a lot of damage has been done. Being proud is being stupid. (Rocky was not proud.)

It’s easy to build confidence in ourselves. Simply select things you’re familiar with and learn to do them well and on a consistent basis. You can even excel in many things. This is your foundation to build upon. Then begin to add in more things to learn, test out, or do. Some things may require greater effort, but with time you’ll get use to this increased effort. Your knowledge will expand and skills will develop, and eventually your capabilities will go up. As this happens, your confidence automatically goes up too. (This was displayed well by the lady in the movie.)

Each thing you do adds to your confidence. Merely begin the best way you can. Try the best methods and techniques you know. Learn from others. Work hard. Be consistent. There will probably be some setbacks or failure. If you get knocked down, get back up again. (Rocky had been knocked down many times, but he got up again. This is also the counsel he gave to his son.) Do not accept failure for the task, nor view it as a failure for you as a person. Continue to strive toward your goal. With time you will have some success. It may take longer and not be as easy as you originally wanted. You may not have as much success, nor will it always come in the ways you expected it. However, you will have learned and grown as an individual in the process. You are now stronger and more confident. This is the only way to become confident. (Rocky, his son, and the woman all learned and grew as individuals through their experiences in the movie.)

As you gain confidence in various tasks, roles, activities, and responsibilities, you become confident in yourself. This is the ultimate goal. This is what gives you personal power and satisfaction too. You may not become a champion or millionaire or president, but you can win in many smaller ways. So be positive and take on life. Make a commitment now to put more of yourself into life in order to get more out of it. Show it what you can really do. In the future you will look back and view this decision as one of the most important events of your life.

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