Putting faith in the power of one

Here’s an intriguing question:  why is it easier to believe in someone else’s ability than to believe in yourself?

I won’t attempt to resolve this enigma in the small space available here.

Thousands of books and blogs  address this poser, and most include credible solutions.

The greatest minds in the coaching and psychology world promote mindset, goal setting, meditation, self-awareness, values, time management, visualisation, discipline and resilience.

Coaching masters say inner strength, clarity and focus are key to achieving goals and  aspirations.

The journey to success begins within.

Desire, passion, desperation, avarice, benevolence, power and glory are all internal motivational forces that drive aspirants to do what has to be done to achieve their dreams.

But there is one essential force even more powerful, more elementary, more definitive, without which victory is  but a dream.

We’re talking about self-belief: the ultimate internal super power that harnesses all the aspirant’s personal qualities, values, skills, knowledge and motivators, while dealing with barriers in a superhuman effort to create invincibility.  Can you imagine a noisier environment?

Remember the old movies where the troubled hero had a haloed angel hovering above his right ear, calmly offering positive advice, while a red-and-black demon perched on his left shoulder, spruiking evil and negativity. If life was only that simple.

In reality, the conflicting voices  circle our hero in swarms, revolving in random directions, pitched at painfully high volume.

Even the most hardened, confident, competitive individual is likely to succumb to the pressure and make regrettable decisions or abandon their dreams and goals – without help.

Tennis champion Jelena Dokic  recently gave a captivated audience  a truly inspirational address at the National Press Club.

Dokic spoke candidly about her tortured life with her domineering father, the pain of rejection from the Australian public when she was forced to denounce her citizenship, and the criticism she received of her physical image when, not surprisingly, an eating disorder took hold.

Dokic talked about how lost she was during her challenged career, how difficult it was to adjust to life after playing, and the pain she felt when she began struggling with her image and the expectations of tennis lovers she lived to please.

At rock bottom, she finally allowed herself to feel vulnerable and only then was she able to be helped.

One personal ally who believed in Dokic was able to quiet the noise and convince her to fight on, and tell her she is a good person doing great work and deserving of respect and success.

Dokic emphasised the enormous value of one person believing in another, and how a believer can reset self-belief in another and reignite that person’s dreams.

Dokic remains eternally grateful to her ‘life saver’ and holds no malice toward anyone who played a negative role in  her life.

The gold nugget that rolled out through the TV screen as I watched, transfixed, was Dokic’s closing comment that it only takes one person to change a life.

Dokic implored her listeners to not  be afraid to let that person help and,  along the way, wherever possible, be  that person.

If this article resonates with you, I would love to hear from you. Contact me at: charliegriffithscoaching.com

 Charlie Griffiths is a certified life  coach and Neuro Linguistic  Programming practitioner.