Diffidence vs. Self Confidence

Diffidence vs. Self Confidence
K S VENKATARAMAN

During that evening, Mani Sharma, a great singer was to sing in that famous music hall. There was a very huge crowd of his fans. The house overflowed with eager fans. Quite a number of connoisseurs of music had gathered in the hall and had taken seats in vantage rows. Everybody was eagerly waiting for the arrival of the singer. There was some delay. Then Manian, the Secretary of the Sabha (music hall) came to stage and announced that due to some unavoidable reasons, the singer could not arrive as programmed.

The disappointment of the fans was obvious. The clamor filled the air. The Secretary continued. He said, "I understand your disappointment. I am sorry for what has happened. We have arranged another concert by this young man, Balan as a stopgap arrangement. I request you to understand and remain for the concert."

The people understood the position but they could not accept the new singer in the place of the famous singer they were longing to hear. The Secretary of the Sabha also announced the new program apologetically. He did not say a nice word about Balan. The tinge of regret in his voice was not helpful to the new singer. His request to the audience to stay back made it appear as though staying back was a sort of punishment for them.

The circumstances were not ideal for Balan to begin a new career. He had practiced very well but this was his first appearance on stage. He had to sing in the place a great singer, who had made name and fame in the field. The audience was unfriendly, if not inimical. The sort of introduction he got was, to say the least, not encouraging to him.

These circumstances would have completely drained any diffident person of his energy. He would have imagined that the whole audience was bent on humiliating him. Much anger would have welled up in his mind against the Secretary, for not having introduced him properly. He would have found it impossible to perform even at his average level, leave alone performing at his best. He would have left after registering an indelible, bad impression in the minds of the audience. He would not have seen it as an opportunity to prove himself but as a doom-laded pitfall. In short, he would have confirmed the disappointment of the fans and spoiled his career in music.

But, Balan was made of a different stuff. He was a self-confident person. He conducted himself with majesty. He was viewing it all as a fortunate opportunity. He was determined to make the most of it. He was already visualizing a very good admiring audience. He was hopeful of hearing their applauses soon. In fact, he had formed a clear vision of it in his mind.

He noticed that the Secretary was not very enthusiastic about introducing him well. That only intensified his inner determination to succeed. He was not depending on any exte
al source for courage. He told himself that his success was not dependent on the few words of praise from the Secretary. He dismissed the action of the Secretary with a sense of pity that he (the Secretary) did not know how to do his job. He was not placing himself at a position subordinate to that of Secretary. He judged him for a moment, found his introduction irrelevant and threw him out of his mind, without the least hatred. He only retained his gratitude towards the Secretary for having provided such an opportunity.

Actually, he was appreciative of the fact that it was a rare opportunity for him to substitute such a famous singer, to perform in the presence of a learned audience in such a big Sabha. He believed that it augured very well for his progress. He made a mental commitment to perform exceedingly well.
When he appeared at the stage, it was not absolute silence that greeted him. People were murmuring among themselves. It was a mixture of complaint, dissatisfaction, impatience and indifference. In the absence of a proper introduction, most of them believed that the newcomer was going to spoil the evening. The singer was shrewd enough to judge the attitude of the audience accurately.

He addressed the audience in a confident voice. "Ladies and gentlemen, good evening to all of you. I am exhilarated to be here in front of such a learned audience. Where else I can find such a great group of connoisseurs like here!

First of all, I convey my heartfelt thanks to Mr. Manian, the Secretary for having blessed me with such a great opportunity of singing before you.

I regard Mani Sharma, as my role model. I consider this a result of my poorva punya (good deeds performed in past births) that I have had this great opportunity to substitute such a reputed singer, whom millions of knowledgeable persons like you admire all over the world. I dedicate my performance to Mr. Mani Sharma, as a mark of my ineffable respect for him.

Thank You...

The audience applauded in appreciation of this speech, even before they heard him sing.*

The newcomer began to sing. Knowing the full value of the opportunity, he gave his best to the performance. He excelled himself. He got the applauses from the audience umpteen times. He went up several steps in the ladder of estimation of the audience and the Secretary of the Sabha as well.

This is how self-confidence enables one to achieve success, even when failure seems to be certain. Without self-confidence, one will be unable to present himself properly or acquit himself creditably.

*Notes

First of all by praising the audience, as 'learned' and 'connoisseurs' he made friends with them. He thanked the Secretary openly and his mind became free of any misgivings about him. He revealed his own respect for Mr. Mani Sharma, whom the entire audience respected; and thus became one among them. By establishing his common ground with them like this, he converted an unfriendly audience into a friendly one. Such a brief and confident speech endeared him to the audience and he was no longer 'new' for them. Apart from these, he made it a point to perform well and he did exactly that.