Building Confidence
I have a tattoo on my arm in cursive writing that says “courage.” The purpose of this is significant, it’s a reminder that no matter how lost I may feel that having courage leads me to confidence.
There is a moment in my process (of life) where all confidence goes out the window and I enter the state of “oh shit, what the 🤬 am I doing?” This is not a feeling of imposter syndrome, this is purely a moment of doubt.
I am human and have dealt with confidence probably my entire life. So where does the “lack” of confidence show up? It shows up when I least expected it. When I feel nervous, scared or unsure. After years of study, observation, learning new habits and practicing a positive mindset, I’ve boiled it down to this:
Be prepared. As one of my teachers shared 99% of transformation is logistics. The key to success is to be prepared for whatever you say YES to. My best moments are when I have spent time on the logistics (preparation is key) so that I can focus on the people, the content and the conversation.
Do a little extremely well. Practice. Practice. Practice. All is coming. — I learned this from a wise teacher of mine. This is to say, choose what you want to do, study, learn it inside and out, get to the point where you feel mastery. The journey is what will build confidence.
Insert humour + compassion. Do not misinterpret this for sarcasm. We can be our hardest critics, sometimes the best medicine is taking it easy, inserting compassion and loving all of you, including when you fall. Insert humour + compassion for yourself is transformational.
This continues to be a journey, and the key for me has been to name it — when you name an emotion or a thought, it’s harder for it to hide — then honour the feeling versus shaming it. Get curious around the timing of when it shows up. Then look at resources that are reliable for you. From there, create a commitment to creating a new behaviour. Perhaps it’s reading a book, listening to an audiobook, a podcast, writing in a journaling, meditating, laughing, etc. Shift into a responsive mindset and lower the volume on the voices that keep you small.
Be your most human self, embrace all of you and no fixing is ever required. You are whole and complete.
(This is my mantra and hope it helps you)
Big love,
Cecily