Tag: confidence

Echo VII

“We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing must be attained.”
– Marie Curie

Born in 1867, Marie Curie thrived in a so-called “man’s world” and accomplished many things. For one, she was a two-time Nobel laureate in two different scientific disciplines (Physics & Chemistry). She was raised poor, but with core values invested in education and self-improvement.

This is a quote that speaks on dedication, and those who lack dedication are generally those living in dissatisfaction. People dissatisfied with their jobs, income, social-status, or self-proclaimed definition of “success”. If only they had dedication – instead of being upset with their situation, they’d rather be motivated to change it.

We have all lacked dedication at one point in our lives.

We tend to drift away from painful things, and instead gravitate to whatever gains us pleasure, but to what end? Dedication comes from having a purpose, which then gives our lives both meaning and direction. Gravitating to whatever fix you need is just wandering, and those without direction simply wander.

Now having confidence in yourself, that’s comes with a different context – or does it? I view confidence as something that fuels your dedication, and any advances you make toward the thing you are dedicated to, will fuel your confidence. It’s a cycle.

If you find you are struggling with confidence, dedication, self-improvement, or navigating through the mundane, I suggest you start creating tasks for yourself.

During my times of greatest depression, I found that just making my bed in the morning helped me feel as though I had accomplished a task.. i.e. making advancements => fueling confidence => fueling dedication.

So what are you gifted for? What is your higher purpose, and will you start building the dedication to attain it?

Alissa Geisse is a Ph.D. Student at THE Ohio State University, in the Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology. She is a patent holding, Graduate degree obtaining, inspirational badass who I’m very thankful for.

Echo I

“You can’t win the war against the world if you can’t win the war against your own mind.”
– Will Smith

You are your own worst critic.

Someone else’s words and thoughts literally mean nothing in regards to your existence – unless you let them. We as humans derive so much self-worth and value through the thoughts and opinions of others. Its become human nature, though I often wonder if something that has always been really needs to “become.”

None of those things affect us unless we let them.

I speak from experience. A sense of value and self-worth is harder to come by nowadays than ever before, but I’m getting better. I’ve learned that most people will do anything to get to their proposed place of happiness, usually at the expense of others. True enlightenment is getting to that point and bringing others along with you. To captain that ship though, you must first know you’re able to navigate, steer, and command. If you can’t overcome the self-doubt and lack of self-worth, the ship simply sinks and leads to not only your drowning but all of the passengers onboard.

We are at a constant battle not only with the world itself, but with others, with time, and with ourselves. None of these battles mean a thing without your most crucial and understanding ally – yourself.

So many times we want to help others, bring positivity to the world, make strangers laugh, invent something to help others, yet we lay awake at night reaching for some sense of being. I can guarantee you this, the products you give others will never truly meet your standards if that same product isn’t given to yourself.