Wednesday Wisdom

I’ve always been a big believer in the power of the mind.  I truly think that if there’s something that you want badly enough and you put your mind to it, you will succeed. 

When I was in 6^th grade, I went to parent/teacher conferences with my parents.  We met with my Technology teacher at the time, and I remember exactly how he motivated me to be successful in school.  I got an A in the class, as well as all of my other classes at the time, and I remember him saying, well, it’s only a matter of time before you get a B.  It will happen before you graduate high school, so just be ready for it.  It’s okay to get a B.  At the time, I remember thinking, but I don’t want to get a B.  So that day, I decided that I was going to do everything in my power to only receive A’s throughout all of my schooling.  I know I was only 11 years old, but I took his comment as a challenge.  I knew that it didn’t HAVE to happen, as he suggested, and I didn’t want it to.  So that day, I set forth a goal that I truly believed I could accomplish, and I worked hard for it every day and every year as I progressed through school.  And you know what, I did it.  I never received a grade lower than an A in all of my schooling, including graduate school.  It was a personal challenge that I took on, and because I believed I could do it, I did.

Having the confidence and belief in yourself is so important.  It’s true, if you really put your mind to it, you can accomplish whatever you aim for.  I learned that lesson at a young age.  But that doesn’t mean that if you just think you can do something, you will be able to, you have to put in the work and the time to accomplish whatever it is that you desire.  I wanted to get A’s, so I spent as much time as I needed to studying and doing schoolwork to ensure that I would receive an A.  As I progressed through school, and especially in my advanced accounting classes, it was not easy.  My classes were difficult and I remember multiple times getting lower grades on my first tests of the semester and having to really buckle down and work hard to bring my grade up.  Having the confidence and the belief in myself is what got me through.

As I get older, my goals aren’t about getting the best grade or passing the next test, but I still have goals and things that I want to accomplish.  And I think this saying is just as true outside of the classroom.  Having the belief in yourself and your capabilities will help you succeed.  The mind is a powerful thing.  If you believe you can, you probably will!