Monthly Archives: July 2008

Breakfast Debate

I really miss these morning talks. My request to all, is to make sure you attend these debates. In case you have never participated, try once and I am sure you will regret why you delayed to make that decision earlier.

For your information

Dont think about disaster

“If you think about disaster, you will get it. Brood about death and you hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully, with confidence and faith, and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action, richer in achievement and experience.”

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) – Indian Spiritual leader of the Hindu religion (Vedanta). Disciple of the famous 19th century mystic-saint Sri Ramakrishna of Calcutta, Founder of the Ramakrishna Order of Monks.

British Council Management Forum

Confidence

Confidence.. Yes! – one of the most important qualities for positive thinking. The higher the confidence, the easier is to think positively.

Psychological gurus say that there are two types of confidence: natural confidence, which comes from being brought up in a loving environment where your parents told you that how wonderful you were every time you put felt-tip to the paper; and artificial confidence, which comes from sniffing felt-tips. There are people who have steady and abundant amount of confidence, others having fluctuating and the last group having less or not aware of the small amount of confidence they posses. It doesn’t take magic to find the group to which you belong.

Let’s ask ourselves simple questions: how do you feel when you want to ask for help from a stranger? What doubles your heartbeat when you are about to speak before the mass? Does this happen often? Another important question would go to men – how do you feel when meeting a beautiful, intelligent and independent woman? (Does this happen to women when they meet the so called HBs?) What do you do? Great, smile or pretend you don’t care about her? (It sounds silly but let’s face it, men find it difficult to mingle with intelligent and independent women. It is a fair truth for most men out there).

Talk of job interviews, how many times have you felt nervous when approaching the interview panel? What about exams? My friend once told me that it’s more daunting to go through the exam fever during preparation period, than the agony in the exam room. Why do we have to worry however prepared we can be?

To be more unbiased to students and job seekers, let’s see what others can experience in a different environment. Imagine you are in a party (most suitably – a cocktail party with people you have never met before) and try to figure out how would be your reactions. How would you feel? Would you feel as a skyscraper in Serengeti national park or a child at its mothers’ hands? Can you guarantee to get contacts of potential partners at the end of this party (don’t count contacts given to everybody).

The list can go further but I am sure you have got an idea of what you are lacking and when you feel lacking it. That feeling you are lacking is called confidence. And for sure, you also have an idea to which group you belong.

Now let’s share how we have experienced the loss of confidence (a problem understood is a problem half solved).

From there, we can discuss the measures that can help us bring ourselves to the first group – possessing stable and abundant confidence. Be positive, we can!

The funny thing is you cannot learn to build confidence if you don’t have at least some confidence in you.

Best wishes…. til next issue