In Bertland Russell’s 3 passions he lays out three principles that have guided in his life. These three principles have given him the steps to live a successful life. But he is not alone, everybody has something that affects them . Principles or ways of life that make them who they are. In my life Confidence, ambition, and security have all been important in the way I act and live. These principles have guided and influenced me in many different ways. My first principle ,Confidence has taught me so much in my life and has proven invaluable in life situations.
For example one of my first times developing confidence was my first sparring session in boxing. I remmeber being scared and my legs felt like they weighed 100 pounds each. Not only was| afraid but the other guy looked way bigger then me and more experienced. I felt fear and doubted myself. The bell rang and i remmeber getting hit very hard. The hit didn’t seem so bad though, I quickly recovered and started pep erring him with jabs and moving around. A feeling of hope crept up inside me. Slowly I gained confidence and realized my hard work had paid off. Not only was I performing but performing well.
After that session | got alot of compliments and my confidence skyrocketed. The feeling made me walk high and set new goals for myself. This confidence carried over into my personal life. If I had the courage and confidence to step in the ring, what was a couple essays at school? I was happier and started setting my goals higher and believed I could achieve what I worked hard at. No matter the circumstance. When I got moved to different schools and homes I did not feel depressed I had the confidence to tell myself I can do this, I can focus and still achieve my goals no matter where I am.
Confidence made me feel everything was okay and is a guiding light in my life. I had the feeling that I could accomplish anything. Now the effect of confidence also drove up something equally as important to me, Ambition. The second principle that has steered me in the right direction has been ambition. Ambition is the feeling that makes you want more in life. A quote that has really helped me understand ambition is by the infamous Napoleon Bonaparte. He states” Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts.
All depends on the principles which direct them. ” Ambitions makes you strive for more and can make you become a person that stands out and i have always felt that’s the kind of person I wanted to be. My ambition made me look at Theese polarizing figures in history and made me yearn to achieve my own levels of greatness and appreciation. My ambition came from wanting to be noticed growing up. In high school it helped guide my life by increasing the value of school to me. Punctuality, good grades, and being viewed responsiblity all became a priority.
All derived from ambition. A certain time that sticks out is the period after high school in where I withdrew from classes 4 straight semesters due to the rigors of living on my own with no family support. My ambition and want to better my status in life kept me fighting. I stayed in school and positioned myself to be Successful. I joined a housing program focused on full time school. It has been a principle in my life that has set me up for success in all aspects. The last principle that guides and improves my life is kindness. Kindness is something that takes effort.
I was never exposed to much growing up but as soon as i saw alittle I could recognize it immediately. It sticks out like a cloud in the sky. One person who helped me understand kindness is my life mentor Tom Alkema. In my housing program for former foster youth we get volunteer life mentors. He volunteered to be my mentor and actually took me to my first laker game. Which being a sports fan in Southern California, was better then going to Disney land 5 times in a row. He had no motive to dedicate his time, but he chose to anyways.
He showed me kindness through explaining his life principles and priorities and passed his knowledge to me. His kindness and ongoing care touched my life and showed me the importance of passing on the same kind of kindness to other people. The strive for kindness not only means touching other people’s life but by controlling your own actions when someone’s is being rude or hostile to you. Being a kind person can control your temper and salvage alot of relationships. This is why I keep kindness in my life as a priority and principle.
I expierienced the effect and how much i appreciated it from other people. Its a principle that teaches me to be a better man. In conclusion, principles are more then just words. Principles are actions, a way of life that if followed carefully can improve your life. Confidence, Ambition, and kindness have all been important principles that I have followed. They guided me and helped me make life decisions. If a man has no principles, no goals or guidelines to help in his life. Then he might as well be a dog chasing his tail. Completely oblivious and getting nowhere.
