On Confidence

Know yourself
independently of what
you think the world is
showing you about you.

Confidence begins with a choice: the decision to know yourself. Knowing your self comes from understanding what you are and expressing it authentically. When you align your values with your actions — to be what you say you’re going to be and do what you say you’re going to do — you build confidence. When you know what you are, and show it in the way you think, feel and do in your head, heart and hands, true confidence arises.

Because it is rooted in knowing and alignment, true confidence is unflustered by external outcomes. Where success may strengthen confidence and failure may test it, confidence endures within. It is the inner resource you rely on when life challenges you. True confidence equips you with resilience to deal with life’s setbacks, courage to take risks and determination to face uncertainty with strength and purpose.

Confidence builds the foundations for trust. When you consistently follow through on your commitments you build self-trust, making you trustworthy. Trustworthiness extends outward: when you trust yourself, others sense your integrity and authenticity and are more likely to trust you. Conversely, you sense what makes others trustworthy. Confidence empowers you to trust in life itself, embrace its inherent goodness, and accept and approach its unpredictabilities with faith and courage.

3 ideas on building confidence:

1. Be authentic: show up fully and let your actions reflect your true self.

2. Be integrous: align your actions with your inner truth, regardless of external validation or criticism.

3. Embrace discomfort: see discomfort as an essential part of growth, with every step outside of your comfort zone strengthening your confidence.

To build and sustain confidence, 3 questions to ask yourself:

1. What do you do when a failure challenges what you know about yourself?

2. What deliberate actions do you take to exercise confidence in the world?

3. Do you use confidence as a tool to improve your competence? If so, how? If not, why not?

3 insights on confidence

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