Here’s an interesting quote by William Walker Atkinson:
“In times of great peril—grave perplexities—life and death struggles, a feeling of calm confidence and strength often comes to us, and we are borne on by a power of us and in us (and yet in everything else, too) that seems to lift us off our feet and sweep us on to safety—to peace—to rest. We are possessed of an abiding sense of power, reserve force and security.
When extraordinary conditions confront us—when our bodies seem paralyzed — our minds stupefied—our will power gone, we are often made conscious of the existence of the Real Self, and it answers our involuntary demand, and comes to rescue with the cheering cry: “I am here”!
Many of us have made use of this inner strength without realizing it. One day we were sorely distressed and made the demand, and lo! it was answered. We knew not from whence came this new‑found strength, but we were conscious of the uplift, and felt more confidence in ourselves.
The next time we confidently demanded the aid, and again we were answered. We acquired that which we call confidence and faith in ourselves, and were carried over many a dark place and started on the road to Success.
Our repeated success caused us to think and speak of our “luck,” and we grew to believe that we had a “star,” and took chances and risks that others would not dream of. We dared. We made some apparent failures, but we soon came to know them as only lessons leading to ultimate success. The “I Can and I Will” feeling carried us over rough places safely, and we got to simply know that we would “get there” in the end.
And so we went on and on, knowing that if we advanced three steps and slipped back two, we were still one step ahead.
We had confidence, because we knew that “things would come our way” in the end. And so long as we held this attitude, we did succeed, and it was only when we lost heart at some unexpected slip—only when, after having attained success, we became dazed and frightened, and began to fear that our “luck might turn” and that we would lose all of our accumulations — is was only then, I say—that our star waned.”
