Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” In other words, no one can make you feel worthless or weak unless you give them your permission. This is a quote that most of us can relate to on a daily basis whether it’s at home, in school, on the streets, or at sports practices.
As humans, many of us pick up the negative things that others say about us and we take their words as insults. For example, your math class took a test and you got back your results. After analyzing your graded test, you found out that you received the lowest grade in the class. Some of your peers remarked, “That test was so easy! You must’ve been pretty dumb not to get at least a B on that test!” You were insulted by this. You had studied and prepared so much but none of that helped. The words that your unkind peers threw into the air were taken very personally by you. From this, your self-esteem and confidence decreased extremely. When someone says something that could be insulting or hurtful, people have the choice to let it go and move on or take it in, lower their own ranks, and destroy themselves. If you know who you are as a person, your goals in life, and your achievements so far, even if they are small, you should be strong enough to ignore frustrating comments.
Certain situations with family, living conditions, environment, and so on can make a person feel inferior as well. You might have a rough life with many obstacles to overcome or a financially free but hard-working, famous life. In either situation, you have the choice to make the best of what you have and keep a positive attitude about your life.
A very knowledgeable volleyball coach once told me that your confidence is your confidence. Your coach might yell and scream and throw their clipboard at you, but they can’t take your confidence away. That’s something that only you can take away from yourself. You can also build up your confidence.
I do support Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” It’s truly your choice to let someone’s silly actions or words bother you and become inferior. You also have the choice to let it slide, remember who you are, and maybe use their words to motivate you to become a better person. It’s your choice.
