Wisdom Wednesday #2 - You Are Powerful

I will to begin this week’s installment with a powerful quote I read somewhere. It read similarly to what follows: 

This quote by an unknown author discusses that true confidence and security come from within. It suggests that how you feel about your inner self does not come from other factors, but only from yourself. Believing in your capabilities builds a strong foundation even when outside factors are uncertain.

I really loved this quote, and it resonated with me. It speaks volumes of the power you have nested within yourself. True power comes within yourself; nobody can help you more than you. Believing in your abilities, judgments, and values will unlock your potential. Through achieving inner trust, you will become more confident and take more risks. Trusting yourself will ultimately help you explore the true beauty of life and strengthen your sense of power. You will eventually start taking meaningful action and acting with conviction. You are powerful and that is how you can begin to realize that.

A major sign of lacking self-trust is doubt, which holds people back from realizing their true power. When you trust yourself, you can push through doubts and fears, allowing you to take more chances. Taking those chances leads to valuable experiences and growth. Most importantly, it helps prevent the feeling of regret. I often regret passing up an opportunity that may only come once. After all, life is about exploring every opportunity and growing. Overcoming regret encourages confidence because each new experience helps you develop personally.

To show how self-trust can lead to overcoming fear, I would like to share two experiences I had during my first two years of highschool, respectively. I handled the two similar encounters differently with two different results. 

I remember when I doubted my abilities and hesitated to take a chance. In freshman year, I was an active participant in the newspaper club and I loved it. I had aspirations to become an editor of the school newspaper. Come application time, I failed to apply because I did not think I would be able to become accepted. 

Retrospectively, this is a horrible mindset to hold. I now know that I was capable of holding an editor position. I published a decent article for the newspaper club, I was doing well in English class, and I had many available resources to guide me on my journey. Even taking that chance would have clarified my skill level and where I needed to improve.

Come sophomore year, editor applications had rolled around. I opened the application, filled out the necessary details, and waited anxiously for the results. I opened the document to see that I was accepted! I was ecstatic because I had achieved my goal. This all came from believing and applying myself. I knew that I was more than capable of building connections, improving my writing skills even further, and being a positive addition to the roster. 

At first, the possibility of rejection was terrifying. I eventually realized that avoiding risks out of fear was never going togrow me as a person and would only leave me with regret. Over time, I learned to trust myself and push past that fear. This opened doors to opportunities I would have left closed otherwise.

Looking back, I understand that my hesitation was rooted in my lack of self-trust. Through confronting my fears, I realized that trusting myself allowed me to achieve my goals. I achieved self-growth and felt a sense of power through overcoming self-doubt.

Building trust in yourself could be daunting at first and seem impossible. However, self-trust is crucial for personal growth and development. These general tips that I value helped me grow as a person and find confidence.

1. Embrace the mistakes you have made. A big factor in self-doubt is dwelling on past mistakes and thinking that similar opportunities will result in the same negative result. However, with experiences learned and obstacles overcome, you are a new and better person.

2. Appreciate who you are. Everybody is their person. There is only one you, and learning to embody that will help build power. Embracing who you are will allow you to be yourself around others, and that is more than okay.

3. Be kind to yourself. Try to rid those negative self-thoughts and any self-criticism after a mistake. We are all human, and slip-ups are inevitable. That is okay. Attend to your inner voice and how it reacts to your actions. Stray away from those critical thoughts and start building a habit of telling yourself accepting thoughts. Self-love is the first step to empowerment and self-trust.

4. Finally, listen to your intuition. Nobody knows you better than yourself. Trust your gut instincts and make decisions based on those values. 

I hope you were all able to take away that you are powerful. Start to build those self-trust habits and empowerment will come shortly after. Peace and love to you all.

- Jaime Paladi, Public Relations
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