Some “What I Wish I Knew Then” quotes from two women and a man who have been through tough times and reflect on how to stay resilient. You are much stronger than you think you are, but remember, never fear asking for help because we have all been in the lows.
An author, educator and entrepreneur on quitting.
What I didn’t know at the time was that whenever many of us take on major challenge, there can be feelings of self-doubt and serious self questioning, even the feeling of being an impostor. While it is conventional wisdom to say that these feelings affect women much more than men, I have interviewed many men who talk about these moments of self-doubt too.
The important lesson is to recognize that “doubting expert-itis” can be a stage in taking on a challenge and not to let these feelings plague you too much or far worse, stop you from doing something you really want to do.
From a scientist, futurist and founder on her best piece of advice:
He said that one should never forget that the higher you aim, the greater the distance that you may fall, and that if that time comes, you really mustn’t be too hard on yourself. This is of course a lesson that all who persistently aim high invariably learn, and usually the hard way. But, aged 14 the notion of failure was alien to me and would remain so for a good few years to come. When that moment did arrive this advice spurred me to pick myself up, dust myself down and start over, and over and over again.
From a psychologist specializing in trauma:
If you expect to fail because you are in a state of anxiety which impairs your performance. if you feel helpless, you stop trying and miss opportunities. It’s easy to think this way. In the dead of winter sometimes it’s hard to see that spring is coming. But the winter doesn’t last forever. And if you think like an optimist and focus on what you can control and look for meaning…you can come back stronger than you were before.