A healthy self image will get you far in life. Imagine two people striving to be successful in life and one of them has all the confidence in the world and believes they will be successful, while the other one is the opposite. Their self image is terrible, they do not believe in themselves and they are scared to follow their dreams and avoid all risk taking because they are afraid of failure.

Now which one do you believe is going to have success in life? A healthy self image is a must if you wish to experience any kind of success in life. We all could use some assistance on building our self image more even if we are not a salesman, entrepreneur, etc. With a healthy self image you gain confidence, courage, and you feel great about yourself because you do not care what others think. People nowadays care too much what other people think about them, and it influences how they think about themselves. You must learn to believe that you possess the potential to do anything you desire, however if you do not have a healthy self image it will be difficult and possibly impossible.

So now your question is ok how can I work on myself so that I can have a healthy self image and have the courage to pursue my dreams? Well this is where personal development comes into play, I have learned through my journey that one of the ways to work on yourself is through repetition. You can actually fool your subconscious into believing something you would like it to believe. If you want to make it believe you are wealthy, even if you are not at the present moment; you continue telling yourself that you are wealthy and eventually you will be shown a path that will help you achieve your goal. The same goes for developing a healthy self image. As you continually tell yourself that you have self confidence and courage then eventually the way you feel about yourself will change.

We all developed our picture of ourselves through society and what family told us. Some have been told things that help us achieve success in life. While others have been told things that have hurt us and hinder our success in life. However no matter what you have experience in your childhood, you can work through all the issues.

It does take time and effort on your part but it can be done. Many people refuse to give themselves credit and do not have a healthy self image therefore they fail to attempt certain things in life. For instance let’s take salespeople. You will often hear people say I can not be a salesperson, I do not know how to sell. Well you are not a born salesman, entrepreneur, doctor, dentist, etc… We all develop the confidence and courage to become whatever it is we desire.

So can you! You can be do have anything you desire all you have to do is work on yourself, and personal development will show you how to do that.

There is a story about a little girl who suffered from a serious disease. Her best chance of recovery would be to receive a blood transfusion from her five-year old brother.

The doctor explained the situation to the little brother. He asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

The young boy hesitated for a brief moment. Then he took a deep breath and said, “Yes, I’ll do it if it will save my sister’s life.”

During the transfusion, the boy lay in the bed next to his sister. He smiled when he saw color returning to her cheeks. Then his smile started to fade, and his face grew pale.

With a trembling voice, he looked up at the doctor and asked, “Will I start to die now already?”

The little boy had misunderstood the doctor’s explanation. He thought that he would need to give all of his blood to save his sister, and he would have done so.

Moving from Resolution to Commitment

The realization of our goals, dreams, and deepest desires depends greatly on commitment, stepping from the familiar into the new. It requires putting our faith on the line to honor our purpose, our personal contract with life. We make resolutions and carry them with us until we commit firmly. Once we commit and begin taking the necessary actions, resolutions become unnecessary.

Without commitment, we remain chained to resolutions and visions, living perpetually beyond the present moment. Though we need to envision with gratitude our goals and their attainment, it is now we must take action. Only in the present moment will we realize the soul’s tremendous courage to follow our own true north — to manifest the reason we are alive.

The Courage to Serve

Rollo May wrote, “The acorn becomes an oak by means of automatic growth; no commitment is necessary…But a man or woman becomes fully human only by his or her choices and his or her commitment to them. People attain worth and dignity by the multitude of decisions they make from day to day. These decisions require courage.”

Commitment is the beginning of service to others. Making a commitment often requires that we release fear. We need to look clearly at things we would rather not see or accept. I believe courage arises ultimately from love. The courage to serve is inspired by the faith to serve not only the self but also all of humankind.

In the words of Henry van Dyke (1852-1933), “Faith is an adventure; it is the courage of the soul to face the unknown. But that courage springs from the hope and confidence of the soul that its adventure will succeed.” Faith and commitments to service can inspire the hope and confidence in each other that our human family needs.

An Outpouring of Love and Compassion

Today, we are witnessing a tremendous outpouring of love and compassion for those in Asia who have endured unimaginable, heartbreaking devastation and loss. Tears flow and prayers are spoken for people we have never met.

Commitments to service and selfless acts of love are taking place globally on an unprecedented scale. Even in extreme tragedy, our “courage of the soul” that Henry van Dyke mentioned flourishes around the globe as many nationalities join together to help those in need.

At a human level, we do not understand why we must suffer. We cannot remove the pain or reunite all of the grieving families. Only God will do that. However, our commitments can make life-changing differences.

Commitments that Make a Difference

We must first be acutely aware that we are not guaranteed the next ten minutes on this earth. We can grow in appreciation for the sanctity of life and realize how capable we are of reaching out with empathy and authentic compassion.

We can also commit to honor the worth and dignity of all fellow humans, serving and supporting them in times of need. All of us can serve — if not with donations, with acts of kindness and prayer. It is a choice we must make for the future of our planet. It is a commitment to serve and be responsible for the welfare of each other.