Do You Have Self Confidence?

Self confidence is not magical. There are no fairies that can give you bountiful of self confidence with the swish of a wand! For some, self confidence is inborn and others acquire it. Let me ask you –

• What is the difference between YOU and Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook?
• What is the difference between YOU and Bill Gates?
• What is the difference between YOU and any other successful person out there?

The answer is – “self confidence”.

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Mutual tolerance is the only hope for the human race. Fanaticism, or ‘My Way or the Highway’, is mankind’s enemy.

What Is Tolerance?

The act of accepting and recognizing the difference between people, culture and religions, and appreciating these differences is called tolerance. The laws of tolerance accepts the fact each individual in this world works within a limited perspective and in unison, these insights and virtues are way bigger than any singular culture or tribe.

Tolerance is deeply linked with reality because tolerance recognizes the multitudinal facets of humanity, which constitutes reality. When we practice tolerance, we can listen and show empathy towards others. Tolerance makes us aware of the otherness of strangers.

H.L Mencken (1880-1956), a critic, editor and writer, stated:

“Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on “I am not too sure.””

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What is forgiveness?

"Pray you now, forget and forgive." By:William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), "King Lear", Act 4 scene 7

Forgiveness is a simple act of forgiving another for the hurt he/she she caused you. Simple as it may sound, to many people forgiving is the hardest thing to do. when one understands  that forgiving the the person who inflicted pain on you is more about you and not the person,  forgiveness becomes easy.

Not forgiving is carrying a burden that is toxic to the one who clings to anger and hurt. Not forgiving poisons you mind and heart and deletes you body and mind from a very important and vital energy.

In one of the New York Times’ The Opinion Pages, an article titled “On Forgiveness,” By Charles Griswold, Mr. Griswold  asks:

“What is forgiveness? When is it appropriate? Why is it considered to be commendable?  Some

Desmond Tutu 2007 at the Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag in Cologne 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

claim that forgiveness is merely about ridding oneself of vengeful anger; do that, and you have forgiven.  But if you were able to banish anger from your soul simply by taking a pill, would the result really be forgiveness?  The timing of forgiveness is also disputed. Some say that it should wait for the offender to take responsibility and suffer due punishment, others hold that the victim must first overcome anger altogether, and still others that forgiveness should be unilaterally bestowed at the earliest possible moment.  But what if you have every good reason to be angry and even to take your sweet revenge as well?  Is forgiveness then really to be commended? Some object that it lets the offender off the hook, confesses to one’s own weakness and vulnerability, and papers over the legitimate demands of vengeful anger.  And yet, legions praise forgiveness and think of it as an indispensable virtue.  Recall the title of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s book on the subject: “No Future Without Forgiveness.””

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What is Personal Development?

Personal development is an act of self development, an act of looking into one’s inner self, analyzing and improving oneself and emerging as a better person. Personal development strategies skills are not limited to you only, when you develop yourself, you’re helping people around you, guiding them, influencing them to become a better person.

Perhaps no one else could understand the meaning of personal development than Buddha, who said: “Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.”

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What is Personal Growth?

To put this succinctly, personal growth is an act of enhancing and empowering your existence. Every human being walking on this earth needs personal growth to become a better human being. The need for personal growth changes with perspective. The term means a lot of different things when seen from intellectual, emotional, interpersonal, psychological and moral perspectives.

One of the biggest resources on personal growth – The Personal Growth Library – defines personal growth as thus:

“Personal growth is both a conscious and unconscious process of developing and bringing forth inner gifts – in the domains of the mind, emotions, body, spirit, creativity, and interpersonal relationships.

It is a conscious process because you can proactively work to grow and develop. It is also an unconscious process because you evolve simply by living your life – just as organisms, species, and civilizations evolve over time.”

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