"The cook is the mind, and the ingredients are decisions. The dish is self-confidence, and the one who eats is the heart.
"The dish is ruined if not fully cooked, and if the cook puts nothing in the pot, what is there to eat?"
Making commitments is an inevitable part of our lives, I guess. But many times we are not able to fulfill it. Why this happen so is largely due to the game between mind(intellect) and heart(emotions). In the calm and quiet, we commit to being the cheese in the trap. But when the rat approaches, the cheese begins to crumble! We've all made commitments in the calm of a comfortable arm chair, only to lose our initial enthusiasm when the consequences of those commitments become clear.
How many decisions have we made, only to look back a year or more later and say, 'how naive we were'? It's easy to make decisions. But keeping that commitment is difficult - because we are fighting the strength of our heart and emotions.
Suppose you are starting a love affair. Initially you feel it a very nice experiece. But the moment he/she ask you to marry him/her, suddenly you will find yourself in the reverse gear! Why? Because at that point of time you start thinking realistically.....at that point the awareness unrolls the outer skin and comes out. That will force you to see things from an entirely different angle. If both of you had full awareness of the consequences initially therewont be any major problem -- the love affair will grow into marriage. Otherwise it just fails pathetically.
So what is the solution to this problem? The solution is never to make any decisions with mind alone. You have to involve your heart at the beginning. The heart and mind is a partnership. Would you buy a house without the agreement of your spouse? Don't make choices without the agreement of your heart.
Don't think this means we should make decisions with the heart alone. The mind has to lead the way. The mind is the best tool for the job. But don't neglect the heart. The key is to get it to agree, by showing it the advantages of your decision.
Remember the Golden Rule: Never break a commitment because of your heart's complaint. If you do, your heart will never take you seriously again. If you always keep your commitments you will gain an inner feeling of self-respect and confidence.
Furthermore, when your heart is naturally in on every decision, it 'knows' it's serious. But if you don't follow through on a decision, then the heart says, "Why bother making a fuss now, I'll wait until it gets difficult. Then I will just puff a little, and he will give in." Your heart is the seat of emotions. If your heart thinks you are not serious, if your heart has no confidence in you, then that is the emotion you will feel. In modern lexicon, this is called "low self esteem."
If you want your heart to have confidence in your mind, you have to start by following the decisions of your mind. And if you really want to gain self confidence, don't avoid making decisions, look for them.
May you be able to fulfill your commitments in life!
