It was a quiet forest, where a young oak tree stood. Over time it grew quicker and quicker, showing off its strength to the trees around. Nearby, a small Bamboo shoot had just broken through the ground. The oak often mocked the bamboo. "Why are you growing so slowly? Look at me, I am already touching the sky while you're stuck near the ground."
The Bamboo smiled and stayed quiet. Years passed by, and the Oak kept on growing larger and stronger, while the Bamboo barely grew above the grass. What the Oak didn't realise was that the Bamboo had roots growing all over the place beneath the surface, preparing for something greater. One stormy night came, and Oak snapped and fell to the ground. The Bamboo? It simply enjoyed the wind, and it bent and swayed along. Days later, the Bamboo sprouted, faster than any tree. It had doubled the size of the Oak.
"So, what's the moral of the story? Your foundation is what gives you strength in the long run. You build your foundation underneath, being visible to no one, except yourself."
There are many beliefs people hold about the term success. They think that it is about fame, and wealth. Well, they aren't necessarily wrong, but they don't realise the hard work and effort put in to reach that level. In this article I would be discussing how to build your foundation by mastering your inner world, with skills that may seem simple to learn, but are hard to implement. To transition into learning those skills, we first have to learn the psychology on how your beliefs can be holding you back.
How Experience Shapes Beliefs
It was 2023, when I first started high school. I was excited to meet new people in a new environment and school. Before my first day, I asked my parents and some of my older friends if it was hard. My parents said it would be hard. I obviously listened to my parents, as they had more experience than me, but as the first day of school kept on coming closer on the calendar, I realised how listening to my parents made me more stressed.
When it was time to start, my parents wished me good luck, and I was ready to start my day. After a week into my first time in high school, I realised that the more I had experienced it, the more enjoyable it became. My personal experience shows us how; you shouldn't make assumptions on the things you've never experienced before. My experience had formed my belief that high school was fun. For my peers and parents whom I had asked, their experiences had shaped their beliefs that high school was either easy or hard. Everyone's experiences are different and unique; to truly understand something, you must simply experience it beforehand. Let's now see how the process actually works, through the theory made by Hazel Markus on Self Schemas.
The Power of Self Schemas
The version of ourselves that we believe is just one of the pieces that makes up the whole puzzle. We tend to see ourselves based on our experiences. Hazel Markus had formed a theory, that involved the concept of self schemas, which suggests that we internalise experiences, which shape our thoughts, and behaviours. Let's break down what the psychologist Hazel Markus means by self schemas.
Schemas are a cognitive framework or structure that help us to perceive certain experiences. It is simply just a web of experiences that help us interpret and categorise information. For instance, if someone called you bad at science, you might develop a self-schema thinking that "science is my weakness", or if you're able to solve a tricky maths problem, you might think "I'm good at maths". These self schemas are carved by our experiences. When you experience something, your mind subconsciously develops opinions about yourself, which shape what we believe. I have put together a few steps on how this process of thinking forms our self-perception.
These steps are just the fundamentals on how your brain responds to certain experiences. Understanding how your experiences are formed, is crucial, as it helps us become aware of what can possibly be preventing us from moving forward. With this in mind, you are now ready for the 5 core skills to be revealed.
Skills That Build Your Foundation
There are many skills in life, but there are only few that hold you together even on your worst days. I call them the 5 core skills.
Integrity
Showing integrity towards someone defines your inner character. It means to be trustworthy, and a person that stays true to their values. To show integrity you have to be honest about every word and decision, even when no one is watching. This simply cannot be bought as it takes your commitment, and practice to change.
Work Ethic
Work means an activity that involves mental or physical effort, that would result in an achievement of a result or purpose. Ethics are a set of moral principles that define your character and personality. When combined, it means someone who puts in hard work and effort with no shortcuts.
Resilience
Resilience is a form of strength. It helps you to keep pushing forward in the hard times. You might have failed twice, three times, or even four. But resilience is there to help you bounce back and keep trying. This is what you need in order for you to reach great heights.
Teamwork
This is one of the most important skills that cannot be bought. Teamwork only works if you have all of the three skills mentioned above, you need integrity to stay truthful to your team, you need work ethic to equally contribute and show dedication, and you also need resilience, to be able to support your team when things fall back.
Self Awareness
In order for you to be able to develop these skills, you need the skill of self-awareness. Without this skill, you won't be able to identify which skill you lack, and where you need to improve.
With all of these skills in action, you can easily build your foundation and be able sprout instantly like how the Bamboo tree did.
Final Thoughts
Success doesn't start with fame or money; it starts with your foundation. How you build your foundation is up to you. You could use the five core skills to make it strong, and withstand every obstacle that comes your way, or you could make it weak, where it can't support you in your tough times. Integrity, work ethic, resilience, teamwork, and self-awareness, is what is going to make you unstoppable. So, before you go and aim for the money, or fame, build yourself, that is what would help you go higher.