“ But I knew this much: I believed in belief, for its own shining sake. To believe in the face of utter hopelessness, every article of evidence to the contrary, to ignore apparent catastrophe– what other choice was there? We do it every day, I realized. We are so much stronger than we imagine, and belief is one of the most valiant and long-lived human characteristics. To believe, when all along we humans know that nothing can cure the briefness of this life, that there is no remedy for our basic mortality, that is a form of bravery “
Without belief, we would be left with nothing but an overwhelming doom, every single day. Dispiritedness and disappointment, these were the real perils of life, not some sudden illness or cataclysmic millennium doomsday “
Belief and positive mindset
The past couple of days have been busy for a good reason and I am totally hooked on to the book- “Its not about the bike” by Lance Armstrong – the very name which fills the mind with the thoughts of a spirit and a fighter we all would love to see in ourselves. Throwing in a little bit of context, he makes this statement when he talks about cancer and how he chooses certain beliefs while deciding to face the operation and how he would want to process it.
Lately, I have found myself questioning myself about what beliefs we should follow to ensure that we don’t hurt ourselves in the future in the same way it was before. The hurt may be a disappointment, may be missing someone, or maybe things not work out the way we expected them to.
Reasons don’t matter
The more I think of it, the more I realize, no matter what the reason – the ones we give ourselves or the ones we give to others, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what has happened and what matters more is what we do about the what that has already happened. How we treat the negativity is the far more superior question and how we grow from it and turn it to something which is useful to us is the superlative one.
I have wondered and realized time and again, it never is as easy as told in the books. Perhaps it is never meant to be easy and probably that is why we see so many people doing it and so less people who can actually guide us in the only way that makes sense to solve an issue.
Belief gives us direction
It is not about only belief, belief helps us to think, and it gives us direction. Action makes all the difference. I know and can relate to the idea that it is extremely hard to believe in some things when they are not working in our favour. But the actual question is whether that one belief helps us or not, whether it enhances our quality and approach to our lives and goals- that is the actual question. It never is easy and is never meant to be.
Things do happen, they do shake our beliefs. But that doesn’t matter either; it just seems as natural as it can be. People have done things beyond that. Maybe it is time to tell ourselves that it is enough , reasons are enough, it sometimes is good enough to accept what has happened and move on to what needs to be done. The world doesn’t stop just cos some beliefs of ours have a few challenges and neither should we.
Sounds simple? I thought so too :)
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Magnificent points altogether, you simply won a emblem new reader. What could you recommend in regards to your publish that you made some days ago? Any positive?
So the lion is back on his turf eh! Good one Vini, especially the end.. Yes it is so true, just beliefs don’t help, acting on them does.. Will look forward to more from you..
Lion! Turf! Gosh I love the symbolism :) .. Seems so, I am back to the books. Looks like there is one thing I can always find some solace in, the warmth of the books.. Feels so nice to be writing again and tat too on a topic like this, it certainly is something I love..
Thanks so much Gaachi :)
Every day we die a thousand deaths due to lack of belief in ourselves and our abilities. Unless we envision a bright future, life is as good as over. No point in wallowing in our sorrows.
Rightly said Sabyasachi… Death doesn’t happen in a single day, nor does a disability, it is a set of beliefs that keep accumulating everyday and making themselves stronger. The solution is definitely a conscious choice and as u said, unless we envision a bright future life is over and wallowing in the sorrows is the worst crime we can commit unto ourselves..
Thank you for view on the topic :) .. And I loved your blog, tried subscribing for the newsletter, there seems to be a problem, I also dropped a mail mentioning the same.. Anyways U do a great work with the blog, keep up the gusto mate :)
Without getting into the whole did he/didn’t he doping scandal…I have always been amazed at Lance’s ability to rise up, seize the day, and go forward regardless of what was standing in his way. There are many lessons to learn from this brother.
Be encouraged!
Thank you for dropping by Stephen.. From the time i read his book, i have been a big fan of his. More than a racer or a patient, he strikes as a wondderful personality and there is so much in him that we could try and incorporate in our lives..
Thanks Stephen :)
When one examines popular beliefs (past and present) one discovers most of them to be flimsy and transient. Yet, people seem to need them. I think (OK, believe) that men and women are born with great courage and act bravely as part of their biological inheritance. And that the beliefs and ideologies are added afterwards.
Interesting view. I agree, initially our beliefs are a part of the culture, history we are trained in and environment, as we grow we realize the flimsiness and the impracticality of those beliefs..
Like you said, that probably should and must the waking call for a much needed change and improvement in those beliefs :)
Life is all about learning-about getting up after falling-the background of a strong belief in the goodness of things,a just world order;helps.Small kids know it without being told,or they would never learn to stand on their feet ;but we often lose this belief somewhere on the way.
Very aptly put Indu.. At some point of time of the so called growing up, we go down and somewhere lose the spirit of the fight.. In his book lance points of that children are far better at reacting to a deadly disease and fighthing it out..
The truth probably is that at some point we alk will have a choice as to wat beliefs we should and how we react to those shapes us as the people we are.. And tat’s probably also the reason as to why we love the fighters so much. Maybe its cos there are so less of them and maybe they awaken the sleeping spirt in us and enable us the motivation to move ahead..
Thank you for yor valuable view on the topic Indu.. Much appreciated :)
Thanks mate.. Got it :)
Our actions determine what happens in our lives. Actions are guided by feelings. if you feel good about something, you do it otherwise you dont. Feelings are determined by attitude. what you feel about something depends on what attitude you have towards it. Attitude is formed by the beliefs. Beliefs are formed by our Programming (social,cultural,parental,peers, etc).
Actions <— feelings <— attitude <—- belief <— Programming.
Change the programming, replace the old program with a new one – that will inturn change everything.
[From the book 'what to say when you talk to yourself' by Dr.Shad]
I believe -on your deathbed, the things you will regret the most are the things that you didnt do, the risks that you didnt take rather than the things you did :)
Thank you Suhas. That is so true. I loved the algorithm from programming to Actions. I would love to read that book soon. Like you said, the regret is always about the things that we don’t do. Very truly said :)
Check your gmail inbox for the book !
A perfect sunshine post!
Thank you Umashankar :)
Good reflection from your personal point of view on what Arm strong says and it applies form us too. I liked your new style of writing – it looks professional and very mature in thoughts, which is difficult to express in writing. Looking forward to more inspirational writings from you. :-)
Thank you VInay. Its very generous of you to shower me with these compliments. I hope I do enough justice to the future posts on such topics. Thank you so much for the support :)