How many times have you been told you should “have more confidence in yourself?”
It’s not exactly helpful, as confidence doesn’t grow on trees and isn’t given out as a freebie with a Happy Meal.
To be honest, most of us don’t even know what it really even means.
Well, here we are, your friends at Shona, as per usual, to do the research, learn the stuff and then break it down so you can get the info you need between Friends re-runs.
Let’s make it really simple:
Confidence is what turns your THOUGHTS into ACTION
Read that again.
Confidence is what helps you to do all of the things that seem, at first glance, to be scary, hard or impossible. It is your own personal cheerleader sitting inside your brain and telling you that “you’ve got this”, “you can do it”, “It’s all going to work out”. We need her, not just to do bungee jumps, but sometimes to put our hand up in class, to say ‘NO’ to something we really don’t want to do, or to know our own worth and go after what we deserve.
Your cheerleader usually knows what you’re capable of, even when you can’t see it yourself, and she knows that pushing yourself will make you feel ALIVE and get what you WANT!
If you can tune into your inner cheerleader, and trust that she knows what she’s doing, she will be your best friend.
Turning your thoughts into action means acknowledging the risks, we might get hurt, or let down, and yes, it might not work out, but it’s worth a shot because it opens a world of opportunity and adventure.
Sometimes it takes a bucket of confidence, or the loudest cheerleader in the world, just to be who we truly are.
As teens, we all just want to be “normal”, and fit in, because it seems like the easiest path, but stop right there. Everyone we know who we admire, respect and look up to, found the courage to stand up and stand out, and never looked back.
Here’s a secret, not everyone who appears to be confident feels it on the inside. It’s a lifelong skill, and it comes from focusing on who we are, and who we can be, rather than what everyone around us is doing.
Q: So how do you get more confident??
A: Push yourself, just a little.
Confidence generates more confidence, that stuff grows like the mould in the cereal bowl that’s lost under your bed. So pick one thing you can do this week that scares you? Are you terrified of the phone? Order a pizza. Go on, we know you can do it. And when you do, think about what you’ve achieved.
Was it uncomfortable? A little maybe.
Was it perfect? No, but that’s okay.
Was it fine? Absolutely.
Be proud of those little steps, and keep track of all that you achieve, and before you know it, you’ll be inspiring those around you to do the same.
Read more about this in Part 2 HERE, where we talk about taking Positive Risks.
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