Why would you think I would concentrate of religion.
Because this is a religious forum and the word "faith" in a religious context has a whole bunch of implications attached to it, that simply is not present when the word is used in other contexts.
Compare it to using the word "theory" in context of a science forum.
I want every bodies input in my posts. I don't discriminate when I try to learn from others. This is outside the religious area for that very reason.
So, in the case of "faith" in a context where it means "trust" or "confidence" in matters of how "confident" one is to succeed in a particular project, I would say it depends on various things. Like how well one can judge one owns abilities as well as the mental support one gets from the immediate environment.
For example, if you have parents that for some reason always treat you as if you are some kind of loser that can't do anything right as opposed to parents that constantly try to motivate you.
Or how one views life in general.
Some time ago, when I was still working as a freelance programmer, I started a new assignment and the very first thing I noticed was a saying that was written in huge letters on the wall of the office: "
Keep your expectations low and don't get dissappointed". I was absolutely horrified when I read that. I immediatly told the program manager that "
if that is how you see this team, you'll never accomplish great things".
Soon after that, I erased those words and replaced them with "
Think big or stay small".
I'm one of those people who assumes that if one has a plan in the head, you'll only be able to put some 20% of that plan into practice. So, you'ld better make sure that the "100%" is an extremely ambitious, grand master plan. Then the 20% will be worthwhile.
And last but not least, one of my moto's in life is "
you can't stand up unless you fall a few times first". Failure is part of life. More then that even, failure is part of success.
Not every plan results in success and that's fine. But for a plan to end successfully, one has to actually give it a try first... But yes, before one takes up the effort of giving it a try, one has to first be confident that it is at least
possible for it to end successfully. And while there are ways to gain a good understanding of the risks involved, at some point you're indeed simply are going to have to have "faith" (=confidence) in your own abilities to be able to achieve your goals.
There isn't a single business out there where the founder didn't at some point make the jump into darkness, not really knowing if they would land on their feet. All one can do is analyse the risks involved and see if it is worth the trouble.
Another great saying in that respect, which is always in the back of my mind with every "risky" thing I undertake:
plan for the worst, hope for the best.