Do you lack confidence when it comes to certain situations? It could be anything: dancing, playing sport, chatting with strangers, doing your job, making love. Those who lack a natural talent for some activity tend to avoid doing it. So they are less likely to acquire needed skills for a good performance and the boost that comes with deserved appreciation. But you can improve your exam confidence by fine-tuning your study skills. You can improve your social and occupational confidence by dressing to look your best. Nothing breeds confidence as much as success.
A person may be confidently dealing with the rapid rate of change after leaving their parents, making their way in the world, getting on well in a chosen job, finding a loving partner, and forming a new home; family, social and work relationships progressing satisfyingly. Yet, even confident people can get unstuck somewhere along the line.
The trouble is the future is uncertain and things sometimes have a habit of going pear-shaped just as you have started to get a bit complacent about life. There you were, outwardly doing well, when a time comes when something appears to hinder your path. The close friend with whom you spend a lot of time announces his or her decision to emigrate, the boss turns round one day saying the company you work for has gone bust, or the doctor suddenly announces those minor ailments you were having are signs of a deteriorating illness. There may be a crisis of doubt. Whatever the reason, life shakes your self-confidence and you no longer trust in your own abilities to save the day.
Calamities oblige us to reconsider the bigger picture. You may find yourself contemplating your lot and reflecting on the life you were leading and the society you were keeping. Then you are perhaps more likely to start to notice some contradictions around you such as the beauty of nature and the ugliness of mankind's world of industry; the innocence of infancy and animals compared with the scheming deceit sometimes found in human commerce and politics. Another example for some is the trust shown in them by their children compared with the distrust they sometimes feel for their colleagues and neighbours. Thinking about such matters, you may realise you have tended to take for granted some of the givens of your world without deeper questioning.
So when it comes down to it, in what can we place our confidence? In our own abilities? In the ideas of others? Or in something beyond all of us? One example of the last of these three possibilities is to do with what the psychologist Abraham Maslow called 'the whole of Being'.
He had studied exceptional people. The ideal values of what he termed 'Being' that he found in these individuals included justice, beauty and truth.
You may remember the final movement of Beethoven's ninth symphony - said by many to be one of the most triumphant and joyful movements in all music. Yet, the composer wrote it at a time when he suffered disappointment in love. At one level, his life was a negative experience with everything around him seeming to overpower him. The music, however, shows his intense inner life that could be both joyful and at peace, despite the adversity of his outer world. Within was an ideal view of life that he carried within himself, but which the world could not meet.
Maslow labelled thoughts concerning such ideals as 'B cognition' (B for Being) that he distinguished from 'D cognition' (D for deficiency). This ties in with his distinction between growth and deficiency motivation. An example of a growth motive is an interest in finding meaning in adversity and an example of a deficiency motive is a need for comfort when hungry, cold and wet.
It is suggested that the more you can understand what has been called 'the whole of Being', then the more you would be able to tolerate what appears at first glance to be inconsistencies and contradictions in the way you think. Apparent opposites can disappear. For example the apparently opposite concepts of sickness and health may fuse and blur when, using 'B cognition', the symptom is seen as a pressure towards health. Another example is Swedenborg's concept of conjugal love that illuminates the seeming dichotomy of sexual desire and romantic attachment, for these are no longer opposite when both are present in the same loving relationship.
I am sure that what really provides confidence is not so much what you do in meeting your natural desire for comfort and status, but rather your activity to do with deeply held ideals and values associated with B thinking. A car mechanic will feel confidence in his work if he values providing a quality service thinking about how to do his best in a sincere, reliable and considerate manner. A shop keeper will feel confidence in his role if he values honest trading; not ripping off customers by selling out of date food or damaged goods but rather thinking about giving them sufficient time to see what things are actually spot on for their requirements. The confidence is in the value of the ethical principles that sustain your efforts.
Copyright 2011 Stephen Russell-Lacy
As a clinical psychologist, Stephen Russell-Lacy has specialised in cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy, working for many years with adults suffering distress and disturbance. His book 'Heart, Head and Hands' draws links between the psycho-spiritual teachings of the eighteenth century spiritual philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg and current ideas in therapy and psychology.
He edits Spiritual Questions a free eZine that explores links between spiritual philosophy and the comments and questions of spiritual seekers. Sign up to share your views and find out more about spiritual health.
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