My INternal & External Influences

Competitiveness

As I mentioned before, I can be very competitive- sometimes I’m over competitive. This level of competitiveness can impact me in different ways. Positively, my drive to be the best at everything constantly pushes me to work harder and keep improving myself. When it comes to sports, academics, and my projects I work on on my own time, I feel extremely motivated to achieve the highest goal. Negatively, being too competitive can also cause stress or frustration if I’m always comparing myself to other people. I may feel unaccomplished when I don’t come out victorious as quickly as I had hoped. Additionally, if my mind is fully focused on being the best, I might miss out on enjoying the process or even celebrating other peoples’ successes. Balancing competition with self-acceptance is important to me since it means maintaining a healthy mindset for myself. Every day, I try my best to make sure that I’m not overlooking others’ skills due to the fact that I want to beat them. 

Self-Confidence

When I am experiencing times of struggle, my self-confidence drops dramatically. This makes it harder for me to believe in myself and my abilities. This mainly occurs when I run into challenges. When I doubt myself, I tend to hesitate when trying things for the first time, which I try not to hold me back from reaching my full potential but often leads to it. I constantly second guess my decisions. When deciding on a job, my lack of belief in myself may leave me wondering if I’m capable of applying for the position. If I listen to my negative thoughts, I will have many missed opportunities, since I might shy away from certain jobs. On the other hand, building my self-confidence can help me stay motivated and trust that I have the skills and qualities needed to succeed, even when things get tough. If I look at myself while playing baseball, I will notice how the game comes easily to me. I don’t feel any sense of anxiety when I am in my rhythm. All I need to do is to find that same rhythm when it comes to other aspects of my life.

Positive Attitude

Being optimistic can have a big impact on how I approach challenges and opportunities. When I’m feeling positive, I tend to focus on the successful outcomes and believe that things will improve, even in tough situations. This mindset can help me stay motivated and keep trying, even when I face setbacks. In times of struggle, optimism can give me the strength to keep going. In other words, I’m more likely to see times of troubles as temporary rather than permanent. I encourage my friends to view challenges the same way; I send them motivational quotes whenever they feel down. Nevertheless, I still understand and acknowledge what the real outcomes could potentially be. Finding a balance between staying hopeful and being realistic can help me stay positive while also being prepared for the unexpected.

Family

My entire life, all my family has wanted was for me to be happy. My grandparents who are Italian immigrants have repeatedly told me to become a doctor or a lawyer. I believe that this is due to the fact that they want me to make more money than they ever had. Everyone in my family has had a successful career. This puts more pressure on me to go to university and find a fulfilling and well paying career. On the other hand, the majority of my family want me to pursue my dreams no matter what they may be.

Social Media

Social media plays a large role in influencing people of all races, ages, and genders, especially teenagers. For the most part, people post and virtually share details of their life to make others jealous. Whether it’s posting vacations, sharing marks on assignments, receiving gifts, buying new items, and so on, people want to seem like they are more superior than others. This may make people feel upset or unimportant compared to the people who are posting online. Many “influencers” want attention; likes and follows seem more important than living a humble life. This could make others feel like they aren’t appreciated or don’t matter. I do my best to focus on how social media can help motivate me rather than feeding me lies and unrealistic aspects of life. If I keep my mind on how I can pursue my dreams rather than having strangers’ lives make mine seem less worthy, then I will stay focused on my own growth and happiness. I can use social media as a tool to learn, connect, and be inspired, rather than comparing myself to others. It’s important to remember that everyone has their own journey, and social media only shows one side of it. 

Friends

My friends play a huge role in my life, especially now that I’m a teenager and don’t have my family around all the time. I tend to make friends easily, and I’ve learned to choose people who lift me up and share similar values. My close friends are all good people who make responsible decisions and they make me feel a sense of belonging and security. However, the majority seem to have their lives all figured out, which makes me feel less accomplished, as if I’m falling behind even after everything I’ve been successful with. It’s easy for me to feel small when the people around me seem so certain about what they want to do. I need to keep in mind that everyone has their own timeline of when things will happen.