Ups and downs, rise and fall, pick and pit, highest and lowest, whatever you name, are life’s inevitable parts. We all face hurdles, tests, and moments of trials and doubt in life. It’s natural to stumble and fall, pause and go invisible, but what truly matters is our ability to bounce back. It is what makes you stand out in the crowd.

Believing in yourself is not a cliché, as people generally call it. It is instead an essential building block for leading a healthy human life. You’re on the right path to resilience and achievement when you believe in your abilities and trust your capacity to overcome adversity. Also, don’t forget that stating these words is easier than implementing them in the routine. If you’re struggling there, remember we’re all sailing in the same boat. However, you have taken the first step to understand and recognise yourself as you are. Not seeing yourself through other’s eyes, perceptions and opinions.

Self-belief helps bring inner motivation to the fore. That thin, almost inaudible inner voice that says, “You can do it,” when the world seems to shout otherwise on your face -centre, left and right. When you believe in yourself, you can struggle through difficult times like a survivor. You begin to develop the resilience to face challenges head-on, knowing that failure is not the end but merely a stepping stone to growth and improvement. Remember, we can’t fail until we try.

Determination, trust and belief in ourselves are essential in shaping our mindset. A kind, positive, humane and self-assured outlook towards life and things opens doors to opportunities we barely consider. You become adaptive and let yourself embrace change, novelty and uncertainty with self-belief. It also prepares you to move forward, no matter how disappointed and discouraged you feel for days. It teaches you every day is a new day. We are allowed to do multiple trials and errors as human beings. We also, with time, develop an ability to look forward and get ready to accept an unplanned and sudden future, a sign that we are ready for an upward and new tomorrow.

Self-belief, friends, is contagious by nature, like happiness and sadness. Your smiley face may become the reason not only for your day to turn into a good one but also for those who cross paths with you. Friends, just remember that we never lose confidence. We never turn introverts in a fortnight. We don’t lose hope. We don’t fail as a person. We just become conscious and begin to note our surroundings and believe me, it is filled with insecurities, judgements and unhealthy competitions where you either win or lose. Learning and experience barely exist there. We let that gloom and negativity take us over ourselves.

We are still the same. For instance, you may lose brain memory in an unfortunate incident, but muscle memory can’t be wiped out. So is the case with us. We exhaust and overwhelm ourselves psychologically by looking at other’s success, progress and eternal happiness and cringe about our inability to compete with the fast-progressing, seemingly always-happy and always-successful world around us. Can you recall the last time you walked 10 minutes to the office or market or did a physically exhausting task? Also, we quickly forget that all of us are struggling in our little worlds. But nobody talks about it or acknowledges it, fearing random public judgements.

Well, well, well, we still have life in us. We must try to accept it to its fullest -the ups and downs, lows and highs, curves and shapes. Instead of being afraid of failure, how about we consider it an experience, self-learning and a stepping stone?

Spare a minute today and give this a thought. I am going to do the same.

Happy Sunday!