Apr 4, 2010 Posted by PofH on Apr 4, 2010 in Blog | 0 comments

Quote – Preparation and Confidence

Let’s consider another thought about confidence with this quote in our ongoing discussion about the Pursuit of Happiness…

“Confidence is preparation.
Everything else is beyond your control.”
- Richard Kline

A lot of the broader Life journey is beyond our control. Humans have an interesting obsession with trying to control everything from the weather, to rivers, to wildlife, to microbes – we even try really hard to control other people. The thing that really sucks about that is… most people are pretty bad about just controlling themselves.

I agree with the quote, Confidence is the Preparation we need to effectively face and work through the challenges before us. Yet the irony is, it is the process of Preparation that ultimately yields the Confidence we need to be most successful.

I was involved in Martial Arts when I was a kid. I remember being a beginner White Belt in Tae Know Do sitting in amazement watching individuals with advanced belts perform at what seemed to be impossible levels for me. I was clearly not prepared to perform this activity, and my confidence was limited that to fact that I knew I could at least walk and chew gum, beyond that it was all up hill.

It was after weeks of practice and preparation, then approval from my instructor that I was ready to be tested for the next belt. It was by recognizing my improvement and progress that I gained the small confidence to demonstrate my remedial skills on my quest to earn a Yellow Belt next. The beauty of the incremental learning is that I was able to focus on what I could do – feet here, arms there, block like this, punch like that – and this became the foundation of my preparation for the next level… and that progressively built my confidence.

The problem is when individuals focus on what they can’t control, they attach their happiness on things or other people beyond their control. These folks have prepared themselves for failure and disappointment. You can recognize them because they don’t sound confident… at all – this is what they have prepared themselves for, and they’re confident that they’ll get it. They scary parts is, in the light of self-fulfilling prophecy, is it any wonder they get what they’ve focused on?

When we focus on what we can control - our own thoughts, behaviors, actions, attitudes, intentions, efforts – then we prepare ourselves with the confidence we need to be successful on the road for our Pursuit of Happiness.

What about you? What are you confidentally preparing yourself for in your Pursuit of Happiness?

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