The Art of Confidence
Do you carry confidence into your daily life? We can all think of examples of confident people we know. They give off an air of positive determination, endurance, and belief in themselves and their goals. Ultimately, confidence is an internal perspective that surfaces in external behaviors. Confidence is your choice—an attainable attitude you can develop and portray. Consider the following examples of confidence:
Richard
Richard left his profession as a tenured professor to follow his passion of starting his own business flipping pizza pies. Forbes Magazine now recognizes him as a successful entrepreneur. His success hinged on his confidence to embrace a major career change.
Mckenna
Young Mckenna walked into her first-grade Spanish Immersion class hardly knowing a soul or the language. A year and a half later, she’s bilingual. Her success hinged on her confidence to face the unknown and overcome failures that would arise.
Vicki
Vicki, previously non-athletic, just completed a half-marathon. Her success hinged on her confidence to believe that she could and would attain her goal.
The success of these people and many others comes with great effort and endurance. As a result, it’s easy to doubt our own ability to achieve what others have. Have you ever found yourself thinking, “Wow, I wish I had what it takes to do that!” Here’s the question—what if you do? What if you have what it takes, but lack the confidence to attempt it? Confidence is believing that your desired results will be achieved. It requires setting and meeting goals. Confidence is fueled by courage.
Recently I was listening to a TED-Ed video entitled “3 Tips to Boost Confidence.” The video provided the following three tips on how we can respond to our challenges and goals with the confidence we crave:
Tip #1: Quick Fix
The quick fix tip invites you to do one thing—visualize. This tip focuses on the power of positive thinking. Picture yourself successful in overcoming your challenge and meeting your goal. Vicki, the half-marathon runner, applied this tip when she would give herself pep talks, and visualize herself crossing the finish line, seeing her goal to completion.
Tip #2: Believe in Your Ability to Improve
Embrace a growth mindset. You have the capacity to grow, develop, and improve. Take Richard, my entrepreneurial friend. He believed that with enough hard work and determination, he could make pizza good enough to rival the pizza he made on tour in Italy. With a mindset for growth and development, he succeeded.
Tip #3: Practice Failure
Practicing failure means accepting mistakes and learning from them. Think through how you will overcome the challenges you face when trying something new. Mckenna, walking into that Spanish classroom for the first time, was ready to face the challenges of learning a new language. But she understood it came at a cost. She practiced failure at home. What would she say when she was called on and didn’t understand the question? What would she do when she slaughtered a word? She practiced laughing at herself and realized that she could reach her goal despite her mistakes.
In the end, self-confidence will require you to visualize your goals, commit yourself to improvement, and be willing to risk failure along the way. Become the example of confidence that people look up to for inspiration and courage to reach their own goals. So…what’s stopping you? Go for it. You have what it takes. Visualize your goal. Fight hard. Watch yourself succeed.
