Rusudan Kvachantiradze: What We Believe About Ourselves

RUSUDAN KVACHANTIRADZE is the Vice President of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) in Georgia, is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and an International Certified Mentor.

As a strongest motivator, belief can transform what was impossible into a reality; its presence gives us strength, shows us the right direction, and spurs us on to action. Faith is often first viewed through the lens of what is outside of us and less about how much we believe in ourselves and our abilities, this is the greatest challenge. There is fundamental paradox in the idea of being a part of the whole and an individual at the same time. Living a full, meaningful life requires a balance, harmonious relationship between these two factors.

Harmony is achieved by having a broad, unified vision of who I am as a part of this universe: how does my unity with it manifest itself, what do I get from it and what value do I contribute? And how can my role in this world benefit me and others around me right now? In addition, it is important to specify my role as an individual; we interact with the environment from multiple perspectives simultaneously, for example: my role in society, family, work, friends, etc.

We must understand the essence, purpose, and capabilities of each role in order to function at our best. We need to know what each role entails, what I must do within it, and what combination of knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors do I need to succeed in it. How well I value the resources available to me? How much opportunity do I have to acquire or develop the resources to interact effectively with the environment from this role? And, finally, how much confidence do I have in myself?

Whether we become active creators of desired changes, or whether we will remain passive observers, depends on our belief in ourselves and our strength. Although self-belief may appear as a given, we either have it or don’t, in fact, it is an ongoing process of self-observation, self-awareness, and self-development; Our roles are constantly changing, as new ones are added to us, old ones lose their function or transform as context, reality, or priorities change; After each change, it is time to begin the process of self-observation again.

Self-belief begins with self-awareness, knowing who you are and what you are here to achieve. Do we have even the chance to think about these issues in the midst of our daily routine and our accelerated pace of life, or do we understand their significance adequately despite constant deadlines and challenges? Considering that belief is the most powerful motivator and that belief in ourselves provides the opportunity for us to create desired changes, why don’t we periodically stop and examine ourselves from different perspectives, consider our wants and needs, and answer the question: Who am I and what roles do I play at the present moment?

As a way to build self-confidence, the next step is to link roles and inner values; Beliefs and values are deeply connected, both derived and based on one another; Understanding this link and understanding roles opens the door to discovering and using personal strengths, which is another step toward self-confidence and opens up possibilities for the next step - to realize our own capabilities.

We are now very close to a space of limitless possibilities, but we must cross a bridge between us and it; Even a slight deviation from the “golden mean” in direction of excessive or low self-esteem may lead to loss of synergy and disharmony, which can manifest in loss of motivation, dissatisfaction with life, increased stress, and concerns about missed opportunities. When we overestimate ourselves and our abilities, our actions and activities do not produce the desired results, and we end up getting disappointed or blaming others for our failure.

To evaluate our own possibilities adequately, it is important to compare our view of ourselves with others’ opinions and observations, listening to feedback, in the process of self-observation. The strengths we have are often more apparent to others than to us; it is always best to speak honestly with them, but if this isn’t feasible, we should ask ourselves: what do they trust and rely on me for?

People who have faith in themselves create new opportunities for themselves and for our environment, they develop themselves and encourage others to develop, they contribute more positively to society by having a harmonious relationship with themselves; in short, they are happy themselves and make others happy too. `