Confidence

 

By John W. Vander Velden

 

When I was a small child, I moved among the tall wheat…crop that grew taller than the wheat of today.  I don’t recall the circumstances, for our father did not allow us to wander about field crops.  For no matter how carefully you moved, you would certainly damage the plants.  All the same I and my older brother moved through the field of yet green wheat.  I remember looking upward to see the heads standing vertically in the morning sun against a sky of brilliant blue, using my hands to gently move aside the slender stalks as I moved blindly through the vast space.  I had no fear of losing my way as I moved on, driven onward by youth’s blind confidence.  Has life taught us the fear of failure?  Have we, by stumbling, chosen, at times, to cease moving?  Does the field before us seem so large we feel lost, unable to even imagine reaching the far side? It is normal to doubt ourselves and our abilities.  But if that doubt stops the attempt….if self doubt keeps us from reaching toward new goals…then we have allowed failure’s fear to dominate.  How can we exist if we do not move forward?  How can we move forward with out any chance of failure or rejection?  Have we forgotten that all achievements are built upon the rubble of failed attempts?  We ignore how much we have learned from the unsuccessful efforts.  But our progress needs more than courage…it requires confidence…the confidence that the goal is possible… That though there will surely be setbacks…and at times we will fall on our faces…that by getting up…and striding confidently forward step by step, we can reach new heights.  It is about attitude…it is about confidence!!!

(296 Words)