Cosmetic Confidence? – by Arnie Wohlgemut
“Confidence is the most beautiful thing you can possess.”
Sabrina Carpenter
How confident are you? About your future? About your abilities?
This past year, I have found myself, like many solopreneur’s, with most of my business disappearing at the start of the pandemic. Face-to-face coaching and in person consulting projects evolved into an online adventure of video calls and carefully crafted schedules.
Everything that could be shaken – was. Everything we thought was good was stripped away and we were left with who we are, with our self-confidence or no self-confidence at all.
If you have lost some of your confidence, it most likely was on the surface, cosmetic confidence. Here are some thoughts on remaining confident in changing times.
“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.”
Mark Twain
- Ignorance and First Day Confidence.
I clearly recall a conversation I had with my mom about a new job I was starting in a few days. She asked me why I had no worries about my abilities to do the work required of me. Great question I thought to myself. I suppose my ignorance about the role I would be playing helped me to build a confident state of mind. My ignorance about the challenges I would face in the years to come, looked like confidence to her. First day confidence can be extremely useful do not understate it.
“Confidence isn’t optimism or pessimism, and it’s not a character attribute. It’s the expectation of a positive outcome.”
Rosabeth Moss Kanter
- The ‘Everything That Could Go Wrong’ File.
As I get older and life brings me new experiences, I built a file with “everything that could go wrong”. What you choose to remember will determine how confident you are in the future. Do not be afraid to borrow some confidence from your past experiences and successes.
“Where your confidence comes from determines when it runs out.”
Steven Furtick
- Your Inner Circle of Support.
Build your confidence from the positive people in your life. Those that step-up and believe in you when you do not believe in yourself. I had several of these people in my life, most notably a former boss, who believed in me, my leadership abilities and supported me in those times when I needed his support.
Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it. Go and become the confident person you were meant to be!
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