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Today's
quotation:
Life is not easy for
any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance
and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe
that we are gifted
for something, and that this thing, at
whatever cost, must be attained.
Marie
Curie
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Today's
Meditation:
I've
actually always had a lot of confidence in myself, which
has been a mixed blessing. I say "mixed"
because my confidence has helped me a great deal, but it
also gets misinterpreted by many people who see it as
something akin to arrogance. Part of my confidence
comes from my lack of being a perfectionist. Since I
don't hold myself to unrealistic expectations, I'm very
confident that I can achieve almost anything I set out to
do.
Part
of my ability to be confident comes from realizing that
even if the task I undertake doesn't turn out exactly as I
expect it to, it will still turn out well, and any
problems or mistakes can be dealt with easily. I
don't stress out about whether I'm doing something
absolutely perfectly; rather, I do the best I possibly can
under any given circumstances, and I know that I'll do
well-- perhaps not perfectly, but as well as I possibly
can.
I do
have gifts, and I do have abilities, and I do my best to
improve them constantly; knowing this fact, it's fairly
easy for me to believe in myself. When I set a goal
for myself, I set it knowing that as long as I put forth
the necessary effort, things will be fine. I know
many people, though, who immediately start questioning
their ability to do a particular something, and they cause
themselves a great deal of unnecessary and destructive
stress that doesn't help them a bit. They've bought
into the idea that their very first effort has to have
perfect results, and thus they fear that they won't reach
that probably-impossible standard. And they're more
than likely right.
You've
been given a unique set of talents and abilities.
Use them, and use them well. But also know your
limits-- I would never undertake an ascent of Mount
Everest, for example-- and don't put yourself in situations
in which you're forced to focus on your weaknesses.
When you do that, you're bound to lose much of your
confidence. When you do have confidence in yourself,
though, you can ask "How am I going to do this?"
rather than "Can I do this?" And that
shift in perspective can make all the difference.
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