Confidence: What It Really Is and How To Practice It
Read Time: 5 minutes
What does it really even mean to be “confident”?
Is confidence always having the answers?
Doing what you want, when you want, how you want?
Is it not being afraid to be the center of attention?
Many times, we may think we are confident, but perhaps the things we do don’t really show that we are.
So let’s get into it, here are 5 ways to actually be confident (or more confident):
1. Don’t always feel the need to have the approval or input of others
Part of having confidence, is being secure in yourself. Be certain in your choices and decisions.
If you’ve already taken the time to decide the best route for a situation, go for it! This is not to say, that you shouldn’t seek the wise advice of others when you need. But be decisive and authoritative over your own decisions most times.
If you’ve thought something out, stand on it and handle your business. If we constantly need to be approved or validate by others, then are we really confident in ourselves? Seek guidance when you’re stuck, but friend, you don’t always need other’s input or approval of what you’re doing.
Trust yourself, you’ve got this!
2. Be fine with not being “seen”, noticed, or given attention
You don’t need to be noticed, given credit, or acknowledged and praised all the time. While it’s always nice to be re-affirmed and recognized for what you do, don’t make it something you need.
If someone does not like your selfie or post, or your boss does not comment on the outstanding article you wrote, or if you don’t get noticed, does that make you doubt yourself? If you are fully confident in yourself, you should know that you do not need others to confirm what you already know: that you are amazing, talented, and beautiful.
Do those things change if someone does not notice? Not a bit!
You still are what you are and have what you have, whether they praise you for it or not, so be ok in those moments where you may not hear applause… you still got it!
3. Don’t be afraid to do things that are different from what others are doing or what others think (in fact, prefer to what everyone else is not!)
When you are sure in your decisions and choices, it won’t matter that others are doing something else, or others think differently.
Be comfortable in your own path. Be different!
We often want to fit in, and fitting in does feel good, right? Are you ok if you don’t fit in though? We want to be exceptional (meaning to be the exception)!
Be confident in what makes you different and go as far as to highlight and be more open with those differences.
@PetalofInsight
Nothing screams confidence like being unique (whether others like it, or not. Remember- we don’t need others to validate us, right?)!
4. Don’t be ashamed to admit when you need help and to learn from the advice of others
Confidence is knowing that you don’t have to seem perfect and flawless all the time but being comfortable in reaching out for help when you need, admitting your weaknesses, and learning from someone else.
I heard a quote from somewhere that has stuck with me for years:
“You can either pretend to be smart, or you can actually be smart”.
This means, you can pretend you have it all together, fake like you are flawless, or pretend to be the one who knows everything about anything, or you can admit where you fall short, and learn new things from others, therefore, becoming a better, smarter, wiser you!
You’ll never improve, grow, or learn if you don’t admit you need to improve, grow, or learn.
Trust me, nothing is worse than a person that thinks they know something and isn’t aware that they are wrong… its embarrassing.
We just don’t see people admit shortcomings all too often. It’s not a sign of weakness to say, “I don’t know” or “Hey, can you teach me more about that?”. To me, that’s admirable and its admirable because its uncommon.
5. Encourage others to be in the spotlight and get the credit
Ooooh, this is a good one that we don’t often connect to being confident. I personally have had to learn this one a couple years ago, and I’m so glad I did!!
This kinda goes along with point #2 above with being seen and noticed, but we’ll take it a step further.
Actively, purposefully, take yourself out of the spotlight and encourage someone else to step in!
Maybe you were working on something with someone else and you need to do the presentation, you already know the work and contributions you’ve made, but do you also need to be the face of it? No. Does that take away from your contributions and what you know you are?
Absolutely not!
Encourage someone, who maybe is not as confident as you, to step in and be the one in front getting recognition, post someone else on your social media and spotlight how wonderful they are and all the cool things they are doing. It does not always have to be you.
Remember, we know who we are and what we are, right? I actually, often find those who are sure of themselves usually are promoting others, while those who often focus on themselves are in need of the attention and focus from others.
Encourage someone other than yourself to shine! When you are secure in your own self, you won’t need to always be the foreman, you’ll be okay with taking the back seat and seeing someone else shine for a change!
Bottom line of this Petal:
Friends, having confidence does not mean having it all together, always knowing what to do, or being in the forefront of something. More often, confidence is being secure in yourself, your decisions, your talents, and your worth. You need no one else to validate that for you. Allowing someone else to teach you, help you, or share credit for something does not take away from the amazing person you are.
Comment Below!
I want to know, what you all think is (or isn’t) “confidence”. What are some things you often see in those you’d consider “confident”? Chat with me in the comments below!
