Standing Up For Yourself

Influence. Influence. And more influence.
I'm not gonna say its all bad. Of course, there are many good influences too.
But.. Well, in my opinion, for most of us, we face the bad ones more than the good ones daily.

It is true when they say that your environment affects you.
The people around you that influence you. For example, peer pressure.
Your friends? What kind of people are they?
I'm not implying that you should always judge a person a lot to find out if he/she's a good person before becoming his/her friend. Not at all.
You might be happy being with them.. contented even.
But do you really know the impact they cause in your life?
Is it for the better, or for worse?
Are you influencing them or are they influencing you?
There is a reason why the advice of choosing your friends wisely exists.
Whether or not you like it,
you'll have to make the right choices in the end.
You can't just keep pushing things aside and thinking it'll be okay at the end of the day.
Because, well, there's only so much your heart can take.
How long more will you be able to hold out?

Besides your friends, there is always your parents as well.
I do admit there are some very optimistic, loving, caring, and encouraging parents out there who are willing to let their children be their own person, shaping them in all the right ways and giving moral support throughout their study years and childhood.
BUT.
There are some other parents who do not realize how their actions and words could sometimes affect their children greatly.
Screaming. Scolding. Yelling. Caning. Making em cry.
They think its okay. Cause its all in the process of raising the kid.

Once again, in MY OPINION, I don't think you should force your self-belief on a child, even if he/she is your child.
Sure, you are the one who bore the kid. You have the authority of control over him/her.
But you have to remember what it felt like when you were their age.
The want to be free. To be able to be who they really are inside. To discover their self-identity.
In the end, that's what growing up is all about.

And as we all know clearly, young children learn quickly and adapt quite easily as well.
What they see, hear, and taste, is kept safe in their memory for the longest time.
When you say something you are so sure of and believe in, even though others don't, and tell your kid to believe it too,... well.
If it's a good thing, then all the better.
But what if it's actually a bad thing? What if?
Even if that kid is your kid, he/she is still an individual. One person. One OTHER person.
You can't force a belief on someone else. No way.
Even if you manage to, you'll just ruin their life.
So please, think. Before you act.

Finally, there is also yourself.
How you think. How you make yourself behave.
What of it?
It is all a psychological play.
As long as you think something is like that, so it shall be like that.
For example, if a rose is really red, but all your life you think and you KNOW that that color has always been blue.
Then a red rose shall be a blue rose.
See? It makes sense doesn't it?
If you think you are ugly, then so you will be ugly.
If you think you are lazy, then you will be lazy.
If you think you're incompetent, there's no way you'll be able to do whatever it is you wanted to do.
Because you don't believe in yourself.

Before fixing your habits, problems, or anything..
You'll have to start with the way you think.
NO. You don't have to go to the extremes.
You should start off slowly in fact.
For example, you could start by telling yourself in your mind that you're not really that ugly, then next time you can start thinking that you look just fine. Then slowly, and surely.. you can think that you're worth it.
That's how confidence comes about.
You don't just sleep and wake up the next day feeling like you're absolutely perfect in every way possible.
Well, I guess it is possible but that only happens when you believe in God. Unfortunately, that doesn't apply to all of us.
Nothing happens without hard work.
So boot that lazy ass.
No matter what, the laziness has to go.
Even the smartest people. Even Einstein who is like the smartest guy.. if he wasn't hardworking enough and dedicated in his experiments and stuff, there ain't no way he would be famous today.
Who knows, he might have dropped out of school and ended up a total nobody.

I know we're all suffering and sometimes it just feels so hard because of ALL these influences..
they're all pressing in on us everyday and we have to keep on resisting, resist and resist.
Once you pause and rest, that's when everything'll go haywire but you know what?
That's why you have to stand up for yourself. For what you believe in.
And always, make sure that what you believe in is right before you really start believing .. for reals.

Because when you stand up for yourself,
you'll find that it's so much easier to resist. Sometimes you even do it without effort and you don't realize it.
That's when you'll know that you've gained the right amount of confidence.
Stop being so stubborn Megan.
There are just some things you have to accept in this difficult life.
God. Humility. Friends.

Even if believing in these things will bring you down and hurt you sometimes,
it'll all be worth it because you'll experience new things.
You don't just always experience the good, right? The bad ones have to come too.
So you'll become stronger and stronger with each trial or tribulation.
Believe in yourself. You don't have to believe in God because I can't force anyone to do that, but.. you must believe in yourself. And try to do the same for your friends that you know you can trust.

Give your heart a break :)