"Confidence/Self Confidence"

Confidence is generally described as a state of being certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Self-confidence is having confidence in oneself. (From Wikipedia)

Having confidence can seem like a great challenge to take on board, but it is great to see that having self-confidence enables you to achieve and accomplish the best results in life and in any situations you may face.

I remember a last year let’s say August 2011; I wanted to go for a HR and Recruitment Administrator role. Fear tried to creep in and state that I will not be suitable, or the role is too complicated or hard for me to do. However I had to shut these thoughts down and seek the truth within myself to remember who I was including what my talents and abilities where. From this point self-confidence was invited and I said ‘Yes I can do it’. I applied and was given the job in which I learnt so much.

The thing is, with gaining confidence, fear always tries to creep in and tell you what you can’t do, or who you are not. But to gain confidence in or through anything is to stand up tall, take a deep breath and like I said above, state you can do it. What is the worst that can happen? At the end of the day, wouldn't you at least want to walk away saying you tried, rather than regretting that you didn't.

Don’t let your lack of confidence defeat you!

Depriving yourself of confidence can make you miss out on a lot of positive outcomes of achievements and opportunities. This could be in a job, relationship, promotions, event, meeting a significant person etc. Basically don’t let the lack of confidence stop you from being the best, having the best and receiving the best.

Sometimes you have to have confidence in yourself before you can have confidence in your actions or others.

For example: When I was battling with the topic of singleness and really wanting to be in a relationship. I went away with my church for a week. There was this guy that I took interest in and I built up the courage to talk to him. Now the outcome didn't really come as I hoped it to be, and neither do I advice any lady to just walk up to a guy and confess their feelings for them (ha ha ha… yes I still stand embarrassed in a good way) as at the end of the day, a guy should pursue a women.

But what I am trying to say is, if I never took that step, I would always be wondering ‘What if’s’, and to me, that is not an option. You may be able to relate to this example through other events in your life, but always remember taking a step out in faith is like having that confidence that no matter what, I know God will see me through and all will work out somehow and in some way. This can be seen through learning something about yourself or situation, drawing closer to God or it could unfold in the positive outcome you wanted.

Let’s quickly take a look at confidence in speaking/actions. Now who can say speaking in public or to a group of people is easy? Well for me… uhhh it hasn’t always been. I used to claim the name of being ‘Shy’ because that’s all I knew to do, keep quiet and move on Faith that’s the way to go.

Have I mastered speaking boldly in public, let alone to a group. Uhhh Nope. But I sure am on my way to and have definitely improved from before, so keeping quiet all the time is not the way to go.

The challenges that I faced through this was whether or not what I was saying was making sense, and also if people would actually be interested in listening. There are a few things we can do to work on in overcoming this kind of mindset like: 1) Be confidence in what you are saying & who you are as a person, 2) Know your material 3) Have a passion for what you speak about 4) Listen to others and relate 5) JUST TRY!

Sometimes see things in this way too: What you might have to say, do or portray could be something someone has been waiting to hear or to see for such a long time. I once heard this saying when watching ‘Lie to Me’ (Btw: Awesome TV series) – Cal Lightman said to Ria Torres (one of his employees), ‘you have to remember as good as your talents may be, it’s not yours to keep for yourself, but for others to receive & learn from’. (Paraphrase)

Let’s begin to lift our heads up. Let’s walk in confidence knowing who we are and what we stand for. Let’s not let fear, doubt, anxiety or people put us or our confidence down in any way. No matter what is said or done to you, rise up against it, shake it off and use it as a stepping stone to MOVE ON.

Onwards and upwards we go…. I’ll leave you beautiful’s with this lovely Bible verse from Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Keep being Beautiful