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Tag: belief

  • Believe In Yourself

    The essence of a positive attitude is belief in yourself. In these shifting times, it is virtually impossible to be certain of anything. The only people who are sure of what they think are the inveterate pessimists who say situations can only grow worse. To some extent, this is a self-fulfilling prophecy, because negativism is contagious. To believe something is impossible means that it probably will be.

    This little parable, “The Man Who Sold Hot Dogs,” probably dates back to the 1930s, but it bears repeating today: There was a man who lived by the side of the road and sold hot dogs. He was hard of hearing, so he had no radio. He had trouble with his eyes, so he read no newspapers. But he sold good hot dogs. He stood at the side of the road and cried, “Buy a hot dog, Mister!” and people bought. He increased his meat and bun orders. He bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade. He finally got his son home from college to help him out.

    Then something happened. His son said, “Dad, haven’t you been listening to the radio? Haven’t you been reading the newspapers? The European situation is terrible. The domestic situation is worse.” The father thought, “Well, my son’s been to college. He reads the papers and he listens to the radio, and he ought to know.” So the father cut down his meat and bun orders. He took down his signs. He no longer bothered to stand out on the highway and sell his hot dogs. And his hot dog sales fell, almost overnight. “You’re right, son,” said the father to the boy. “We certainly are in the middle of a Great Depression.” With so much gloom hanging in the air, people are unable to see what’s ahead of them. They naturally hesitate to move into the unknown. They want reassurance that they will not stumble, fall or break their necks before they commit themselves. In a situation like this, remember what is sometimes called the law of destiny: “Glory may be fleeting, but obscurity is forever.”

    Uncertainty will stop some people in their tracks, while others will take it in stride as a normal part of living. We can’t ask for certainty at any time, because “sure things” don’t exist in real life, any more than they do at the racetrack. There are no certainties, only probabilities. Self-confident people calculate that these probabilities will work in their favour over time. With this kind of confidence, you don’t depend on something or somebody else. You don’t depend on the guarantee of security. You depend on yourself and on the things you believe in. You make your own way.

    “A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” —HUGH DOWNS