If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning. – Mohandas Gandhi
"Someday, I'm gonna ride this thing!"
What does that mean?
This saying has been stated by many people in many different ways, but it gets back to the same basic fact. If you believe you can do it, you will eventually find a way to make it happen. You might not know how you are getting there at first, but as you work your way to your destination, you will acquire the skills you need.
The analogy I like is of a person standing on a tall hill, overlooking a valley with fields and forests and pastures as far as the eye can see. In the distance is the mountain, the foot of which is the destination. They may not even know where in the valley the river is, much less how they will ford it, but they will eventually find it and eventually cross it.
Why is belief important?
In the context of this quote, the belief is in self, as well as in opportunity. The self-belief allows us to be willing and able to rise to the occasion of any obstacle that may dare to cross our path. The belief in opportunity allows us to notice an unforseen possibility and make the best possible use of it.
In other words, if you can believe it, you can achieve it. You may not know how you will do it, and you might not have (at present) the skills or abilities necessary to do it. But your certainty that you will be able to complete the task will help you acquire the knowledge, skills or someone who can do it for you. That certainty or belief will give you the courage and strength to continue until you have accomplished the task.
Where can I apply this in my life?
This belief allow us to move forward, even if we can’t plan every single step, and don’t know everything that can be known. For a person like me, that’s scary, but sometimes, you just have to step forward on the strength of your beliefs.
The most amazing example of this was my first child. I, being the geek and control freak that I am, wanted to be completely ready before we had a child. How would I prepare the house? How would I prepare the baby’s room? What furniture was needed, and which brands had the best safety scores? How would we handle the feeding schedules? How would we choose the day care? The list is practically endless.
While I was trying to be prepared, my wife’s clock was ticking. Tick toc. Tick Toc. TICK TOC! This was leading to frustration for both of us. Eventually I came to the realization that even if it was possible to be completely prepared for kids, I would probably be too old to do anything about it by the time I was ready. At that moment, the truth of this quote hit me like a ton of bricks.
This story is, to me, the personification of the quote. There is no perfect path for rearing a child. Every one is different, and even the best plans are thwarted by the great big bag of randomness that is a child. You simply must believe that you are willing & able to do whatever is necessary to be a good parent, and be ready to adapt and to change and to learn, and you will succeed. Does the quote make a bit more sense now?
The author of the quote is another example. When he spoke of freedom for India, he was talking about peacefully removing the (then) most powerful nation in the world. And that nation didn’t want to let go. What’s the plan for that? Could anything less than the complete belief that you would succeed be able to do this? I can’t think of a way.
What do you believe you can do? What are you doing to make it happen? Plan for what can be planned, prepare for what can be foreseen. Be flexible, as the path you need to travel might not be the one for which you prepared yourself.
Grab something to write on and start by writing your statement for this mission. What is your objective, what are you trying to do? Having clarity about this is critical. Now start a plan. What are the big steps from where you are to where you are going to end?
Next, write down all the things you know you don’t know, or know you can’t do right now. It might be a good idea to put together a few contingency plans. Will you learn the methods or skills, or will you find someone to handle those aspects? What is “Plan B” in case some portion of the initial plan becomes too big a hassle to complete? Will you have a “Plan C” or “Plan D” or is that just getting too anal for you?
Finally, you simply have to take the first step. When it was in your head, it was a dream. Now that it is written down, it’s a plan. But it doesn’t become real until you start taking steps to make it happen. What’s your first step? Determine what that is, and take it. Sooner rather than later. Now might be an even better time, wouldn’t it?
From: Twitter, @GreatestQuotes
confirmed at : http://quotingquotes.com/39715/
Photo by magical-world
