It’s so painless for us to talk ourselves out of something, because to talk yourself out of something requires nothing more than maybe a simple excuse like:

There’s no way I can handle seventeen credits this term with all of the reading I’ve been assigned.

Wow, this professor really has no idea what he’s talking about. Instead of taking notes, I think I’d rather sit here and count all of the times he says the word “uhm” throughout his lecture.

I shouldn’t be inside studying, it’s sunny out. No one studies when the sun is out…

If you can relate to any of these scenarios, then you know exactly what I’ve been dealing over the last couple weeks.The nice weather has been a major advocate in energizing those who’ve been kept inside their cocoons, and encouraging them out into the sunshine to at last, enjoy spring. This is great and fantastic—exciting in so many ways. With this overwhelming exposure to sunlight though, comes a very dark and ugly cloud called reality; The reality that going to get ice cream will not help me get my long and drawn out to-do list done, nor will the kind man scooping my ice cream be the one to write my daunting 10 page paper for me.

You see, there’s this thing called intrapersonal communication. I learned this term in one of my very boring, dry and long lectures this week and for some reason (between doodling) it stuck with me. Intrapersonal communication is the primary way in which we communicate with ourselves and it is typically done through the conversations we have in our head. Similar to the excuses I listed above, are these conversations. This term is what prompted me to delve deeper into the topic, being that I am terrible or good (depending on how you look at it), at talking myself out of things before giving them an actual chance. I’m sure that you too, have maybe noticed in your own life, how it’s just as easy to talk yourself out of something than it is into something.

This epiphany made me start to ponder also, how a majority of the things I've thought about giving up on have ended up teaching me something in the end. A class I though I hated turned out to be my favorite, an assignment that seemed pointless proved itself useful, and so on.

My friend, just last week, said something very powerful. She was talking about how it's really cool that even when you think you’ve hit a breaking point and can’t take anymore...even when you think you aren't capable or strong enough, that it's really cool how God intervenes. Whether or not you’re going through something traumatic, or maybe could just use some motivation to go to class, He catches you off guard when you least expect it and provides the little push you need to keep on fighting. A lot of the time I think we fail to acknowledge God’s help, until later when we look back and reflect on our perseverance and our ability to overcome.

You may think that your achievements have been reached entirely on your own, and that's okay because everyone is allowed their own opinion. However, I believe that strength and courageousness is derived from God, and God alone. I believe that reality is not always the most glamorous, and so we work extra hard to make our not dealing with it seem reasonable in our own head. But when you’re able to take a negative thought, and transform it into motivational one encompassed by your beliefs—when you're able to trust, then I think you will be most successful in whatever you do.

Something I've been reminding myself of lately, whenever I catch the little voice inside my head telling me all the things I can't do is that:

yes, what you’re going through now is not easy. In fact, the chances are, that things will probably end up getting even harder as you grow and mature further into adulthood. But, you’ve been through worse and you’re not a quitter. God has always showed up, and He always will...if you let Him.

My point is, that we all could work on improving the way we communicate with ourselves, regardless of if you're religious or not. Because it is true for most of us, that our lectures probably will be pretty boring, as will sitting on a computer when it's eighty degrees outside. A professor may not accommodate to the ways in which you learn best and it could take all you have not to scream at the top of your lungs with frustration.

The question then is, will you let these things determine your success? Will you let the crazy workload of classes or the sunny weather be an excuse as to why you don’t succeed?

I still can’t say that even I know the answer, or that any of us really do for that matter. I do wonder however, what it might look like for us to take the things that appear to be setbacks and instead, use them as advantages; bringing snacks to class or chewing gum to stay awake, taking detailed notes that will keep you engaged, and grabbing a nice shaded spot in the grass to complete the reading or other homework you’ve been assigned.

What would our world look like if we fed off of positivism and faith more than we did doubt and uncertainty?