信成万事

しんせい　ばんじ
shinsei banji

And, after a few days off, we're back with another one of those yojis that will make you question the validity of the site...

This is a yoji that defeats not only Rikai-chan, but it defeats the Japanese keyboard language pack, the Yojijukugo-databank, my yojijukugo dictionary, and all of my books. And yet, at a table full of Japanese co-workers, when someone listed it as their favorite, everybody recognized it and acknowledged it. It is a good one.

Definition:
きっと出来ると信じてやればそのとおりに出来るが、心配したり不安がったりしてやっていると成就しないこと。
Translations:
1. Success or failure is determined by your own belief in your abilities.
2. If you believe you'll be successful, you will. If you doubt yourself, you will fail.
3. Believe in yourself and the magic will happen.

There's another Japanese saying that fits up with this one pretty nicely: 信ずる者は救われる; Those who believe will be rescued. Whenever I've heard this one used, it hasn't been in the sense of "If you sit around and wait faithfully, someone will come along and save you," but rather, things will work out in the end for people who believe that they will.

例文：「信成万事」とよく言われますが、躁うつ病にかかている上に精神分裂症です。どうしたらいいだろう？
People are always saying "Those who believe, succeed; Those who doubt, fail," but I'm a manic depressive schizophrenic. What should I do?