Swami Vivekananda’s Thoughts on Self Confidence

• Faith, faith, faith in ourselves, faith, faith in God – this is the secret of greatness. If you have faith in all the three hundred and thirty million of your mythological gods, and still have no faith in yourselves, there is no salvation for you.

• He is an atheist who does not believe in himself. The old religions said that he was an atheist who did not believe in God. The new religion says that he is an atheist who does not believe in himself.

• What makes the difference between man and man is the difference in this Shraddha (faith) and nothing else. What makes one man great and another weak and low is this Shraddha.

• The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength. Teach men of strength that is already within them.

• You must not say that you are weak. How do you know what possibilities lie behind that degradation on the surface? You know but little of that which is within you. For behind you is the ocean of infinite power and blessedness.

• We can overcome the difficulty by constant practice. We must learn that nothing happen to us, unless we make ourselves susceptible to it.

• It is the coward and the fool who says, “This is fate” – so says the Sanskrit proverb. But it is the strong may who stands up and says, “I will make my fate”. It is people who are getting old who talk of fate. Young men generally do not come to astrology.

• Ekalavya, an ideal for modern students, learnt archery without any external help. By self-effort and faith in one’s power, longing for knowledge and by self-reliance, one can do miracles.

• You have in you a thousand times more than is in all the books. Never lose faith in yourself, you can do anything in this universe. Never weaken, all power is yours.

• Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin? To say that you are weak, or others are weak.

• You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.

• You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.