The Bhagavad Gita (BG) teaches that you are what you believe in, and you
become what you believe you can become. Self-belief is tied to recognizing
your inner, spiritual potential rather than just relying on your external
achievements.
Here is how you can apply these timeless teachings to believe in yourself:
1. Act According to Your Nature
The Gita teaches that it is better to do your own duty imperfectly than to
perfectly do someone else’s. Embrace your unique talents, interests, and
perspective rather than comparing yourself to others.
2. Take Action Without Clinging to Outcomes
True self-belief comes from taking the first step. You have a right to
perform your duties, but not to demand specific results. Focus on the
process of doing, and let go of the anxiety over the final result.
3. Master Your Mind
A famous verse from the Gita notes that the mind can be your best friend or
your worst enemy. To believe in yourself, you must lift yourself up through
positive, deliberate thoughts rather than degrading yourself with
self-doubt.
4. Recognize the Divine Within
In spiritual philosophy, the eternal soul (the self) and a higher power are
intimately connected. Believing in your own highest capabilities is a
direct reflection of believing in that inner divine power.
5. Shift from Pride to Humility
Genuine confidence comes from understanding your role, fulfilling your
responsibilities, and doing your work with complete dedication.
Confidence is essential for doing anything challenging. Those
with confidence have an energy and a magnetism: energy that enables them to
push beyond the boundaries that limit most other people, and magnetism that
draws others to be with them and to stretch themselves with them.
Still, confidence can easily morph into arrogance where people think that
they know everything and that they are the source of their abilities and
energies. When their abilities desert them, as happens to even the most
talented people sooner or later, they end up unable to process that loss.
Having invested their self-worth and even their self-identity in their
capacity to do challenging things, they can’t face themselves, leave alone
face the world. For them, it’s vital to remember the Bhagavad-gita insight
that our abilities are coming from God (07.08). To lay sole claim to our
abilities is ignorance.
The devotionally inclined understand that their abilities come from God,
but they may go too far on the other side by believing that they are
utterly worthless. While humility, which is an essential spiritual virtue,
means to not be drunk with ego, it doesn’t mean that we can’t do anything;
that would make us impotent.
The Bhagavad-gita urges Arjuna to become an instrument of the divine for
changing the world order toward greater virtue. Implicit in this call is
the understanding that we all have the potential to be instruments of the
divine. Even if we believe that we are unqualified, our lack of
qualification isn’t greater than God’s capacity to give us that
qualification. By focusing on our potential as conscious beings, who are
precious parts of God, we can be inspired to do something worthwhile with
what he has given us.
One-sentence summary:
Faith in yourself without faith in God is ignorant, faith in God without
faith in yourself is impotent.
हतो वा प्राप्स्यसि स्वर्गं जित्वा वा भोक्ष्यसे महीम् |
तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चय: || 37||2
hato vā prāpsyasi swargaṁ jitvā vā bhokṣhyase mahīm
tasmād uttiṣhṭha kaunteya yuddhāya kṛita-niśhchayaḥ
BG 2.37: If you fight, you will either be slain on the battlefield and go
to the celestial abodes, or you will gain victory and enjoy the kingdom on
earth. Therefore, arise with determination, O son of Kunti, and be prepared
to fight.
K RAJARAM IRS 17526
On Sun, 17 May 2026 at 05:05, Jambunathan Iyer <[email protected]>
wrote:
>
>
> *Take the time and the energy to truly invest in your most important asset
> i,e yourself. as the Life is a field of unlimited possibilities. Every life
> has a purpose.*
> *Let go of a past you cannot change*
>
>
> *N Jambunathan , Chennai " What you get by achieving your goals is not as
> important as what you become by achieving your goals. If you want to live a
> happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things "*
>
>
>
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