See yourself as a winner

interesting and provoked me into a process that culminated in this article.
On the portrait was a cat, with an inscription asking, “How do you see yourself”.
The cat was looking into a mirror and inside it was a vicious-looking lion, meaning, the implication on the portrait was that the cat sees itself as a vicious lion.
The cat is very small in stature and in no way looks as intimidating and imposing as a lion.
The cat can never dream of waging battles as little as only a tenth of the king of the jungle the lion, is reputed for.
But the important thing is the cat nevertheless gladly looks into the mirror and sees itself to be a lion.
I asked myself the same question. How do I see myself? I went on to meet colleagues and friends and was inspired to always ask, “How do you see yourself”.
The presentation of the cat in the portrait brings out a number of points about the subject matter, and for the purpose of this article, which is that the way you see yourself plays a major role in determining how and what you become.
In other words, you largely determine what you want to become by seeing yourself in a certain manner.
The first point is that regardless of your background, your abilities or how the world looks at you, what and how you define yourself crucially determines what you become. If you look at yourself lowly, that sets the pace on what you become and who you are.
Looking at yourself as an ant will have an efficacious bearing on your attitude, your performance and even your esteem. You will feel like an ant – very small, the least of all crawling things on earth, which anyone and anything simply crushes under their feet.
The cat looks in the mirror and believes to be seeing a vicious lion and that automatically gives it an attitude of a daring, brave and indomitable warrior, which the lion is known to be.
That therefore means this builds an attitude within the cat, of a lion. The cat develops a character of a lion. In the event that a battle comes on the way of the cat, it would fight with the attitude of a lion.
If you see yourself as a winner, you build the attitude of a winner, you develop the character of a winner and that determines your steps and how you respond to challenges.
Again, the point is that if you look at yourself, you define who or what you are, you see something and that affects your character, attitude, values and even belief system.
Some among us look into the mirror and see a hopeless victim of a poor background, losing parents at a tender age, hyperinflation or victimisation by others.
Seeing yourself in this way means allowing your character, attitude and even spirit to be shaped by the belief of what you see to be you.
I am afraid, this simply means you are defining yourself as a failure and a loser.
Colleagues, mentors and even parents may do their best to try and build strength or character in you but will find you difficult to uplift because you would be seeing yourself as a hopeless loser.
Like the cat, if you look into the mirror and see a brave, powerful as well as resilient fighter, this will develop a character in you based on those values and virtues you believe to be your building blocks.
You therefore take on challenges with bravery, you fight until the bitter end and will not be easily intimidated even by adversity.
You, like the cat, may be small in stature and not in any way comparable to massively built animals such as the elephant, but seeing yourself to be like a lion will develop your character and attitude to exceed your physical attributes.
Seeing yourself as a lion, which is known for its exceptional fighting abilities, athleticism, resilience and precision will form the basis for you to exceed your physical shortcomings, your background challenges and even your educational deficiencies.
That takes me to the next point about how I understood the portrayal of the cat as it looks and sees itself to be a lion.
By seeing a highly successful entrepreneur in yourself even before you have your first bank account shall spur you to achieve your greatness and stretch your capacity.
You may still be sitting on your dreams and wishes, which are nothing the world sees and acknowledges.
But when you look into the mirror, you see yourself to be a Strive Masiyiwa or a Bill Gates and that becomes the factor and determinants in shaping your character and even your destiny.
You will start walking, thinking and carrying yourself like what you see in the mirror to be you – a winner, and that will be the major motivation for you towards shaping your character, attitude and objectives in life.

l Pascal Nyasha is a motivational speaker, entrepreneur, leadership coach and business consultant. He is the author of the inspirational book, ‘Reaching New Horizons’, and founding Fellow of the Leadership Institute Africa. For feedback call: 0773 003 912 or email: [email protected]. Connect with Pascal on Facebook.