10. Do volunteer work.
Volunteering is a terrific self-esteem booster because it gets you out of your selfcenteredness (which is a quality we all suffer from). Nope –– the excuses won’t work.
You’ve got schoolwork. You don’t have transportation. You’ve got to get home right after
school to feed the dog. Yeah...so does everybody. Make it your job to volunteer. It’s not
hard to find out what to do; look in the newspaper, online, or on social media. Sometimes
they’ll print a column devoted to volunteer jobs; some of them are open to teens (hospitals,
libraries, schools, retirement homes, animal shelters). After you’ve volunteered to help
someone, pay attention to how you feel. Pretty fantastic, probably.
11. Start finding your purpose in life.
“Yikes! You want me to do what?! But my brother’s in college, and he doesn’t even know
what he wants to be yet!” Don’t panic. We’re just suggesting that you start small. We’re all
born with certain talents, skills, and interests. If you squash them down, you can end up
feeling frustrated and restless––as if you’re not good at anything—without knowing why.
If you get too focused on your day-to-day activities, you can forget about the future or about
what your mission in life might turn out to be. What could your special contribution to this
world be? Are you creative? Musical? Do you have a way with test tubes and science?
People skills? Sports skills? When you have time on your hands, how do you usually spend
it? What interests you? Usually we’re good at the things in which we’re most interested.
Once you begin to zero in on your unique talents in life, ask yourself if there’s anything you
can start doing now to enhance them. Having a mission is a great self-esteem booster.
12. Persist.
Don’t give up on these things. Keep on keeping on. As nearly every successful person will
tell you, persistence counts. Losers are the ones who quit five minutes before the miracle.
PROTEAM DREAMQUEST CURRICULUM
Source: Sylvia Cary, All About You, May 1996
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