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New Year’s is right around the corner, and second to goals related to physical fitness and weight, one of the most popular New Years’ Resolutions is to make major adjustments to personality traits. Some resolve to be more confident, some resolve to be more organized and make it to all their meetings and scheduled to-dos, and still more resolve to stick to their resolutions and not flake out when things get hard. If you’re looking for inspiration to improve yourself in 2018, here are some great quotations for you to get started.

“Don’t fake it till you make it; instead fake it until you become it.”- Amy Cuddy

Amy Cuddy rose to national acclaim after her viral TED talk on power posturing and developing confidence in the workplace, especially for young adults and young women at that. In her talk, she discusses the power of using one’s body to take up the space it rightfully deserves with purpose and intent. She demonstrates how simply reclaiming the full extent and capability of the physical body can help fool the mind into a feeling of dominance and calm command. “Fake it till you make it” only tells half the story — if you spend enough time “faking” confidence, soon enough, you’ll actually become more confident and self-assured.

“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” – Carl Gustav Jung

Carl Jung was one of the greatest, albeit one of the more controversial psychologists and psychiatrists of the 1900s. With interest and influences extending into the fields of philosophy, anthropology, history, literature and more, Jung was a true Renaissance man interested above all in learning about the human condition, the “self,” and concepts of persona. Much of Jung’s research applied to how one can accurately evaluate the moral fiber of another person and comparing their intents against their behavior and performance. Jung frequently counseled his patients that their intentions are worth little to nothing if they don’t materialize. We don’t judge people by what’s in their plans — we evaluate them by the fruits of their labor.

“Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking.” – William B. Sprague

William B. Sprague came to national acclaim in the mid-1800s for his immaculate and detailed record keeping. A Presbyterian clergyman, Sprague assembled and published the first completed annals of all the major Protestant ministers who passed away before 1850. Sprague also collected signatures from all the original signers of the Declaration of Independence, members of the Constitutional Convention, and kept pamphlets handed out during the time of the Revolutionary War used to spread philosophies and reasons to break ties with England. Sprague believed firmly in teaching young boys how to be strong men while they’re still in their childhood so that the nation and the Church remain strong for the next generation.