Showing posts with label self-confidence. Show all posts

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The Power of Self-Encouragement

Posted on Tuesday, 30 January 2018


The Power of Self- Encouragement
By Apolinario  Villalobos


To be inspired by what we accomplish through our own effort should not be misconstrued as being narcissistic.  Making us realize that we can do some things without being dependent on others should give us more impetus to strive mores. However, we should always remember  not to be buoyed by arrogance.  To develop the trait of self-encouragement  in us is not easy. If we are used to the hovering of our parents since childhood, our personality becomes soft, so that along the way of our life, even a simple impediment makes us falter.
Earning accomplishments in life through self-encouragement is like saving coins in a piggy bank. The increasing weight of the piggy bank due to the accumulated coins encourages us to drop more through the slot. Squandering some saved coins, is like putting to use some of what we have accomplished into useless endeavor. This can be avoided if we will be always reminded by an old adage, that  we cannot turn back the hands of time, and as I may add, so do mistakes committed that cannot be undone. Care is then very necessary to prevent this. 
Meanwhile, successful people driven by self-encouragement can tremendously inspire others, especially, today which is smarting from the frustrating steady rise of unemployment. A  person suffers from disappointment if he fails to land a job after his first attempt, and in this situation, it is important that the person should convince himself that he is facing one of the realities of life – cutthroat competition in applying for a job, for which persistence can help. He must realize the need to do counter moves or strategies to be competitive.
To make self-encouragement work, some people switch to other fields of endeavor, some of which are a far cry from the course that are stated in their diplomas. There was a time in the past when the most in demand job was for nurses to fill up vacancies in European hospitals and healthcare institutions. There was a mass switching of course from medicine to nursing, and even those with license in medicine, went back to school to desperately take a course in nursing.  This effort somehow helped, even at the expense of pride – imagine a doctor, willing to work as nurse or a caregiver. As the ultimate goal is financial gain, those who attained it, thought that they did just the right thing.
Self-encouragement is a necessary element for survival.  The will to have a useful life after retirement or after having been partially incapacitated by an accident, needs even a bit of self-encouragement. In this instance, the government does its part by offering programs for senior citizens and persons with disability (PWD’s). In this situation, self-encouragement as a force is more crucial than those coming from other people. The strength to move on should first come from within a person. External strength becomes useful to further prop him up steadily.



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Gutsy and Self-Confident Maricar Oliveros of Cd-r King

Posted on Saturday, 3 October 2015

Gutsy and Self-Confident Maricar Oliveros of Cd-r King
By Apolinario Villalobos

This is not a paid advertisement. It has been my advocacy to write about people I meet on the street, in malls, in restaurants, or any unusual place. I have written about a solicitous supervisor of a McDonald joint in Quiapo, a compassionate technician of an internet café-Bacoor, a teacher, a vendor, local government officials, government employees, and many others.

This time around, it is about Maricar Oliveros of the SM Bacoor’s Cd-R King outlet. Petite and morena, with a gentle face punctuated by expressive eyes, she may not elicit much attention, except that because she is one of the store attendants, you really have to seek her. My encounter with this young lady was when she attended to me when I bought a pocket wi-fi. As the gadget had to be set due to the required code, she tried her best in the absence of their technician. Unfortunately, that morning I was not in a good mood and sort of in a hurry. I was irritated by her explanations which I interjected with questions. Several times we did not meet on certain points of my inquiry, so that, unknowinglhy, I was already raising my voice.

Despite my impatience and ill-temper, she was very much in control of herself, not even rattled a bit. She even smiled while looking at me straight in the eye. Her courageous posture brought me to my senses. In other words, she was able to make a sale triumphantly, while I was short of breath due to my bad temperament. She successfully taught me how to use the gadget, and with a smile closed the transaction with some precautions, such as taking note of the power bar, overcharging , etc.

The following day, I brought back the gadget to the store thinking that it was defective because I could not connect to the internet. I saw to it that I was the first in line in their store by waiting until the doors of the mall were opened at 10:00. When I arrived at their store, I found her fanning herself with a piece of cardboard as the aircon  system was not yet of much help. I explained to her the problem and without any question, she tinkered with the gadget to make it effective again.

She did a remarkable series of testing because I gave her the idea that I am amenable for a replacement. She practically spent almost an hour attending to my problem, until finally she reset the gadget as a last resort, doing which she used her resourcefulness because she had no tools. I cannot divulge such “resourcefulness” here, as it could be her “trade secret”.  I ended up with the same gadget that I bought, as she found out that replacement was not necessary. Her effort saved the store from replacing a purchased gadget, unnecessarily.


 I was touched by her effort, silently trying to do her best to satisfy me, an irate customer who ruined her morning, the day before. She was a sales attendant, not a technician, yet, with a knowledge that she, perhaps, gained by observing their technician, she was able to put to use an admirable resourcefulness. Her self-confidence and guts can put a guy to shame. Do we ever wonder now why Filipinos are loved by their employers abroad?

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Ang Tiwala sa Sarili

Posted on Tuesday, 9 June 2015



Ang Tiwala sa Sarili
Ni Apolinario Villalobos

Kung may isang pinakamalakas na sandata ang isang tao, ito ay ang tiwala sa sarili. Hindi ito pumuputok tulad ng baril, hindi rin sumasabog tulad ng bomba. Hindi ito nakakasugat tulad ng patalim, at lalong hindi ito  sibat o palaso na nakakatusok sa katawan.

Mula sa puso, dumadaloy ito patungo sa utak upang gabayan ang tao kung ano ang nararapat niyang gawin sa pagharap sa mga unos ng buhay – mga pagsubok, upang hindi agad tumiklop ang kanyang mga tuhod kung panghinaan siya ng loob.

Pinatunayan ng kasaysayan na kung minsan, hindi kailangang may malaking katawan upang manaig sa katunggali, tulad ni David na isang maliit na tao, subalit dahil sa tiwala niya sa sariling nagbigay sa kanya ng tapang ay napatay niya si Goliath.

May mga tanyag ding lider na maliliit subalit ginagalang ng mga tauhan at kinatatakutan ng mga kalaban, tulad ni Alexander the Great, Hitler at Napoleon Bonaparte, iilan lang na mababanggit ko. Si Ferdinand Marcos ng Pilipinas ay hindi rin gaanong malaki, kaya itsinismis pang gumagamit daw noon ng “elevator shoes” upang mabawasan ang diperensiya ng taas nila ni Imelda. Lahat sila ay may malakas na tiwala sa sarili kaya nagtagumpay sa kanilang mithiin…subalit hindi nga lang para sa kabutihan ng nakararami dahil naging mga diktador, maliban lang kay Alexander the Great.

Si Mother Theresa, na ngayon ay isa nang santa, ay mula’t sapol may malaking tiwala sa sarili dahil alam niyang ginagabayan at inaalalayan siya ng Diyos. Siya ay may taas lang na lampas kaunti sa apat na talampakan na lalong pinababa ng kanyang pagkukuba dahil sa diperensiya niya sa likod. Sa kabila niyan, hindi siya natatakot na pumasok sa mga lugar ng iskwater.

Maraming nagtapos sa kolehiyo na valedictorian o may iba pang mataas na karangalan, subalit dahil sa kawalan ng tiwala sa sarili ay hindi nagtagumpay sa buhay. Natalo sila ng mga nagtapos kahit sa markang “pasang awa”, subalit may malakas na tiwala sa sarili, kaya malayo ang narating sa buhay.

Yong isang Pilipinang singer na galing sa General Santos, na bilib sa kanyang kahusayan sa pagkanta ay nagpilit na gumawa ng paraan upang makilala. Kaya basta may madaanang libreng videoke sa mall na pwedeng kantahan, banat lang siya ng banat sa pagkanta hanggang sa matiyempuhan ng isang blogger, kaya nai-post siya sa you tube habang bumibirit…naging viral tuloy sa internet. Ngayon, international singer na!

Sa may mga mukhang hindi pang-pelikula o TV, ang kunswelo ay pag-isip na marami ang may ganyang mukhang pambihira. Dapat isipin na kung walang pangit, wala ring maganda o guwapo dahil walang magagamit na batayan o basis. Kaya, dapat ay may malakas na fighting spirit ang lahat ng tao, ano man ang hitsura ng mukha! At isipin lang palagi na walang ginawang pangit ang Diyos. Ang kapangitan ay tao rin ang nagdi-develop tulad ng pagiging korap kung nasa pamahalaan na at nasilaw sa pera, kaya lahat sa pamilya gusto nang maging government official!...yan ang tiwala sa sarili na negative!

Totoong mahirap ding magpakita ng tiwala sa sarili na sa tingin ng iba ay pagiging “presentado” o “presentada”. Kaya ang kailangan talaga upang magawa ito ay magpakapal ng mukha….o mag-santabi muna ng hiya. Dapat nating alalahanin na malaking sagutin sa Diyos ang hindi paggamit ng anumang kagalingang ibinigay niya sa atin, lalo na kung ito ay para rin sa kapakinabangan ng iba. Sa madaling salita…bigyan natin ng pagkakataon ang ating sarili, at huwag tayong madamot sa pakikibahagi ng anumang talento na meron tayo.

Paalala lang: dapat makinig sa sasabihin ng iba na huwag nang maglakas-loob na kumanta halimbawa, kung ito ay makakapagpatilapon lamang ng tutule at makakabasag ng eardrum ng ibang tao, dahil yan ay pananakit na ng kapwa, isang bagay na ayaw ng Diyos na gawin natin!