The development of self-confidence begins properly with intelligent
self-examination. The mind must be closely scrutinized, undesirable tendencies
checked; faults eradicated, and correct habits of thought and conduct firmly
established.

To achieve the best results this personal overhauling, or stock-taking, should
be thorough and fearless.

Fear thought is a disease, to be diagnosed as carefully as any other malady. It
arises largely from perverted mental habits. The mind is permitted habitually to
dwell upon thoughts of doubt, failure, and inefficiency. So great does this
power become, when permitted to rule unchecked, that it affects to greater or
less degree almost every act of one's life.


The extremes to which timidity will sometimes go are as amusing as they are
absurd. Men fear poverty, darkness, ridicule, microbes, insomnia, dogs,
lightning, burglars, cold, solitude, marriage, Friday, lawyers, death, thirteen,
accident, and ghosts. The catalog of dreaded possibilities might include black
cats, mice, ill luck, criticism, travel, disease, evil eyes, dreams, and old
age.

It is true there is a legitimate and honest fear, like that of the young soldier
who, upon being asked after his first battle how he felt, replied: "I was afraid
I would be afraid, but I was not afraid." It is right and proper that one should
fear to do a mean or cowardly thing, to injure another, or to commit any kind of
wrong. This fear, however, instead of weakening personal character, imparts to
it new and manly force.

To walk straight up to the thing feared will often strip it of its terror. In
one of the old fables we read that when man first beheld the camel its huge size
caused him to flee in dreadful fear. But later, observing the animal's seeming
gentleness, he approached him less timidly, and then, seeing the almost
spiritless nature of the beast, he boldly put a bridle in his mouth and set a
child to drive him. We can in like manner conquer fear thoughts of the human
mind.

Fear has well been called our most ancient enemy. Primitive humanity were
unprotected against more powerful animals, and in those early days they had good
reason, doubtless, for manifesting (great fear; but it is difficult to justify
the wide-spread fear that exists to-day.

Thousands of persons can say truthfully: "I have all my life feared things that
never happened." The danger of this fear attitude is that it frequently attracts
that which is dreaded most, and the words of Job are literally fulfilled: "For
the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me and that which I was afraid of
is come unto me." We are told that one of the bravest of African chiefs was
driven into a cold sweat of agonizing fear merely by the constant ticking of a
watch.

If worry is due to lack of self-reliance, fear is an acknowledgment of
inferiority.
It does not stand still, and unless throttled will gradually overwhelm its
victim, making him at last "Like one, that on a lonesome road Doth walk in fear
and dread, And having once turned round walks on, And turns no more his head;
Because he knows a frightful fiend Doth close behind him tread."

Timidity is quickly recognized by the world, and not only argues an ignoble
mind, as Virgil says, but actually invites pursuit and imposition. John Foster
observes in his splendid essay "On Decision of Character ": “Weakness, in every
form, tempts arrogance; and a man may be allowed to wish for a kind of character
with which stupidity and impertinence may not make so free. When a firm,
decisive spirit is recognized, it is curious to see how the space clears around
a man, and leaves him room and freedom. The disposition to interrogate, dictate,
or banter, preserves a respectful and polite distance, judging it not unwise to
keep the peace with a person of so much energy."

It is surprising how confidence begets confidence. Courage in danger is
sometimes half the battle, while self-reliance will often safeguard a man's
interests and give him an abiding sense of security. It makes him feel equal to
almost any undertaking, however difficult, leading him to think with Dry den
that "They can conquer who believe they can."

The building of self-confidence is not difficult, but it requires patience and
intelligent effort. There should be no straining, no anxiety, and no haste. The
story of the man who tried to jump over a hill should be kept in mind. He went a
long way back, then ran so hard toward the hill that when he got there he was
obliged to lie down and rest. Then he got up and walked over the hill. Many men
are always preparing, but never achieving.

It is said that with regard to any final or definite end, most men live at
hazard, and without any fixed star to guide them. Hence, as a writer has
expressed it, "To him that knoweth not the port to which he is bound, no wind
can be favorable; neither can he who has not yet determined at what mark he is
to shoot, direct his arrow aright."

Indecision is a frequent cause of the fear habit. Men hesitate to take a step
one way or the other lest they do the wrong thing, and this spirit of
irresolution and hesitation often leads them into the very mistakes they would
avoid. It is like a man on a bicycle, endeavoring to steer clear of an
obstruction on the road, but all the while keeping his eye fastened upon it so
that a collision is inevitable. There is nothing more disastrous to manbuilding
than infirmity of purpose. "He who hesitates is lost," while he grows great who
puts on "the dauntless spirit of resolution." The world generally accepts a man
at his own valuation. If you give an impression that you are afraid, you will
beside-elbowed and imposed upon at almost every turn. Let me illustrate: The
other day I saw a dog leisurely pass a cat on the street, and to all appearance
there was no ill feeling on either side. The cat looked him straight in the eye
as he approached, and the dog returned her confident glance and quietly passed
on. Then the cat, seeing a good chance for escape, bolted across the street, but
the instant the dog saw her running he turned and followed in hot haste. It was
cat and dog for some yards, when suddenly the cat stopped, humped her back and
looked defiantly at her adversary. He stopped, caught his breath, blinked
uncertainly, turned up his nose, and walked off. As long as the cat showed fear
and ran, the dog chased her; but the moment she took her stand, he respected
her. When a man stands up boldly and sell-confidently for his rights, fear
slinks tremblingly into the shadows.

You, who enter upon this study of self-confidence, resolve to follow it to
completion with bulldog tenacity. Realize that no weak-hearted, intermittent
efforts will achieve your desired purpose. Hold before you the supreme assurance
that you can and will achieve this indispensable power, and great will be the
reward of your energy and perseverance.