Satan's Influence

Satan is good at what he does. If he wasn't good at it, then everybody would be perfect in this mortal state. I've known many people who have been angry at God for allowing them to face difficult temptations, addictions, or loss. I know, because I have felt that way before. While we talk about God knowing us so well, I think that Satan knows us really well, too. I don't know that he knows as much about us as God does, but he knows us enough to know our weaknesses. Our weaknesses are our breaking points––the faulty parts of ourselves we give in to too often. And the sad thing is that it is easy to give up and fall into his traps. It's easy for us to disregard our potential and take the lazy options that require no effort but give easy satisfaction. It's only human to want to take the easy route. And that's why God encourages us to do the harder rights rather than the easier wrongs––He wants us to transcend this mortal state and become something better. Only then can we partake of the eternal happiness that is promised to us by God. But it's just so difficult to always keep that perspective and  remember what God wants for us. Like I said before, Satan is good at what he does. But God is better. With God's help, we can recognize the worthwhile things and ultimately become who we are meant to be––perfect sons and daughters of God. I know that to be fact.

Confidence

Confidence is a simple idea but is one of the hardest things to master. Every single person on earth struggles at some point in their life with confidence. But why? Why is it so hard to choose to be confident? When we look at little children, they are some of the most confident individuals around. They speak bluntly, wear non-fashionable things like its the new trend, and make friends with whoever they choose to befriend. When did we begin to loose that confidence we had as children? When did we become self-conscious? The interesting thing is that God “hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”(2 Timothy 1:7-8). So why do we experience fear and doubt our capabilities?
We like to think that if we know a subject really well, we should be able to speak confidently about it. But that’s not always the case. For example, members of the LDS church who love the Gospel, and know the Gospel truths through-and-though can still be too scared to share its messages. I just want to know why we all care so much about what others think over what God thinks. We are too easily distracted by the physical, tangible and present things that face us that we forget about the importance of what God thinks.
Turning one’s life around from being shy and doubtful to being confident is extremely hard. That internal battle we all face is a very real struggle. But if we take that leap of faith by saying or doing whatever things we would never think to do due to a lack of confidence, there can only be good things to come of it. Whether it is easily accomplished and well-received by others or not, it is a stepping stone to achieving our potential and ultimate happiness.