The Ability to Succeed

Quote 1

"One of the greatest weaknesses in most of us is our lack of faith in ourselves. One of our common failings is to depreciate our tremendous worth" (L. Tom Perry, "Be the Best of Whatever You Are," in Speeches of the Year, 1974 [Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1975], p. 77).

Quote 2

"A shallow self-image is not [improved] by always letting others establish our standards and by habitually succumbing to peer pressure. Young people too often depend upon someone else's image rather than their own" (James E. Faust, in Conference Report, Apr. 1981, p. 8; or Ensign, May 1981, p. 9).

Quote 3

Elder Marvin J. Ashton said:

"A wise teacher and stake Relief Society president ... flashed a large picture on a screen. It showed a bright-eyed boy with unkempt hair and folded arms, deep in thought. The caption read, 'I know I'm somebody 'cause God don't make no junk.' Please let me repeat, 'I know I'm somebody 'cause God don't make no junk.' ...

"Every human being in every walk of life needs help in building his self-respect and self-reliance. ... A person's image of himself is nothing more or less than what he has learned through his experiences and his interactions with others. It is rewarding to note that someone has helped a typical boy develop his personal identity. Someone, perhaps a mother, a Primary teacher, a neighbor, or even a song like 'I Am a Child of God,' has made this little boy realize he is someone. He knew he wasn't junk. He knew he wasn't impossible. He knew he was a human being loved by his Heavenly Father" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1981, p. 125; or Ensign, Nov. 1981, p. 89).

Quote 4

"The values of faith in God and virtuous behavior ... are often rejected by many as worthless. This is a route destined to failure because it does not take into account the powerful importance of the subjective things we can know but not measure. For instance, I love my wife and family, and I feel their love for me. You cannot measure how deep our feelings of love are for each other, but that love is very real to us. Pain is also difficult to measure, but it is real. The same is true of faith in God. We can know of His existence without being able to quantitatively measure it. Paul states, 'The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God' " [Romans 8:16] (James E. Faust, in Conference Report, Apr. 1981, p. 9; or Ensign, May 1981, pp. 9-10).

[Rom. 8:16 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:]

Quote 5

Eleanor Roosevelt is remembered for her insight when she said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" ("Points to Ponder," Reader's Digest, Feb. 1963, p. 261).

Quote 6

"Thoughts have a great deal to do with how we live, whether we're enthusiastic or depressed, whether we enjoy success or experience a degree of failure, whether we enjoy spirituality or suffer from a lack of it, and in many respects, I believe, whether we are obedient or disobedient to the laws of God. Some modern behaviorists have indicated that the human thought process is very much like the operation of a computer where the conscious and subconscious mind is concerned. The input which we take into that process has much to do with the output in terms of attitude, mood, and behavior" (Dean L. Larsen, "Thoughts about Thoughts," Speeches of the Year, 1976 [Provo: Brigham Young

Case Study 1

Cindy's mother was hurrying to get dinner on the table by 6:00 because she had a meeting at 7:30. Cindy was thinking about an assignment for school the next day as she put the plates and silverware at each place. Mother called from the kitchen, "Hurry, Cindy, you are so slow." Cindy had been told she was slow quite a few times lately and she was beginning to believe it. "I guess I am slow," she thought.

Case Study 2

Sue began taking violin lessons from a neighbor who was a teacher. She felt very awkward holding the bow and violin and told her teacher she didn't think she would do very well. The teacher assured her that with practice she would begin to feel more at ease. But Sue felt that she would never be able to learn, so soon she stopped practicing completely.

Case Study 3

Becky worked late into the night to complete a speech she was preparing for school. When she read it to her mother the next morning before going to school she said, "I think I have a pretty good speech, don't you?" Her mother replied that indeed it was a good speech because she had spent time in preparing it.

Quote 7