Writing quotes from others and yourself can help you receive life-changing inspiration to shape your character and future.
When I think about writing, I usually remember quotes I read and the impact they had on my life at the time. I have found some of those quotes in unexpected places and activities, like watching a movie in a theater, the main page of a newspaper, reading a novel, or just listening to a song. Sometimes, I just find them in my mission journal. They have served as inspirations to make decisions in moments when I do not know what to do.
One of the quotes that I remember the most when I feel discouraged about doing something is “the successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn’t like to do”, by Thomas Alva Edison. This quote has had a profound impact throughout my life, especially in different workplace scenarios. An example of a moment when I decided to do something I wasn’t very excited about, which turned out to be a blessing, occurred while I was working at a call center. After a few weeks of taking calls, my supervisor asked me to step away from the phone for a moment and coach new hires. I was a little scared and felt I wasn’t prepared to do it; my supervisor knew I had read many of the company's policies and procedures and trusted my capacity. After one or two hours doing what I was asked to do, I felt more confident, and soon I was taking supervisors' calls and making decisions to help the customers over the phone. Two months after that situation, I received a promotion to assistant supervisor, which allowed me to learn new things and keep growing within the company. By doing something that others and I did not want to do, I learned enough to grow within the company.
Another quote that has served as inspiration for me is “all men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine,” by Socrates. I read this quote while watching the last movie I saw in theaters before my mission. This quote really impacted the way I act because it constantly reminds me of the importance of being righteous in order to bless my life and other people’s lives.
Nevertheless, even though these quotes have had a deep impact on my actions, without writing about them in my personal journal, I would not have been able to remember them. Having a notebook in which I write down my impressions, experiences, and lessons has shaped my character and helped me grow as a person and professionally. Writing is one of the most important skills I think I can develop because it helps me remember details of my own story that I would otherwise forget.
While I was serving my mission, someone emailed me an important message in which she explained what President Nelson, who was an Apostle at the time, recommended doing. During his visit to the Dominican Republic, he advised church members to learn English and Mathematics. When I read about it, I wrote it down in my journal so I would remember it when I returned home. About two years later, I decided to learn English as my second language on my own, studied from various books, and then entered the Pathway Worldwide program, which helped me strengthen my English, life, and mathematics skills.
Finally, other people’s writing and I had a profound impact on my life in the past, and it is still doing so now. It has shaped my life and character and helped me receive more revelation about what I need to do to improve different aspects of my life. I feel that I am currently a successful person who achieves every goal I set because I write about them, and that writing helps me as a constant reminder of my goals and plans to achieve them.
