Confident people, who are they?
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” -Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan’s quote clearly defines how confident people are. They don’t just wish for something to happen, but they make it happen.
In this post you will find,
- The moment I realized I wasn’t confident
- Building Confidence in Yourself
- Confident People do these 5 things
- Nobody can do it for you
Are you a confident person? Do take your time to reflect on this question.
The moment I realised I wasn’t confident
Yesterday, I asked myself this question while looking in the mirror. I was getting ready for a meeting and decided to take one good look at myself before I stepped out. I stared at my image in the mirror and asked, Do you feel confident?
At that moment, my heart skipped a beat. I became anxious as I pondered on what the people I was going to meet expected from me. I wanted to call the meeting off because I felt unprepared but it was too late to take that action.
After taking about five minutes to assess myself, I realized that the fear did not emanate from me not being prepared. On the contrary, I had gathered knowledge on everything I needed to know.
The etiology of my fear was the fact that this was my first time pitching to these people I was meeting.
Then it hit me. Why am I feeling this way even though I’m a confident person? Well, most of the time. But does my little ‘little’ morning situation make me less confident? Do confident people experience fear? How do confident people behave? These are the mind-bulging questions I asked myself.
After searching for knowledge to guide my actions, I found some interesting wisdom I believe will benefit you, too. So, sit down and sip some juice for this revelation will fuel your heart to take more courage to be confident in yourself.
Building Confidence in Yourself
Here’s something about me. I’m a little bit impatient. Yes! I have always wanted things to happen for me fast. Unfortunately, that’s not how the world works- for some people, anyway. It takes time for things to work. It takes time for your goals and dreams to be fruitful.
Having said that, you should understand that building self-confidence takes time and dedication. Jesse Owens, an American track and field athlete, once said, “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”
It takes time, practice, and dedication for you to work on yourself to become a confident speaker, take leadership roles, start your business, advocate for a cause, and many other things you can think of.
Many top speakers worldwide such as Vusi Thembayako, Stephanie Ike, and Vihn Giang, have all shed light on how to train yourself to be more confident enough to achieve your dreams and goals.
Confident People do these 5 things
- They accept their fears. Sometimes, we don’t want to feel bad about ourselves so we lie about our real feelings. Unearthing how you feel and acknowledging it is the most important step in becoming confident.
After unearthing and acknowledging how you feel, you identify the source of that fear. For me, I realized that I become more afraid to contribute to a discussion happening among my colleagues if I have little to no knowledge about the subject matter.
So, to combat this fear, I always do prior research about the topic before showing up for the discussion. That gives me confidence. So what I’ve done is that I discovered my source of fear and devised a solution for it. Knowing what scares you and doing what gives you confidence to do what you’re afraid of can make you self-confident.
- They find confidence in God- Stephanie Ike Okafor. If you know me, then you know there’s no way I will talk about anything without factoring in God. Because he is the source of everything. He is the source of life; a life-giver.
If God is the foundation of everything you do, then it will become successful. God is our source of confidence. He did not “give us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control”- 2 Timothy 1:7
Whenever you’re scared about doing new things or achieving new dreams, “don’t talk about how inadequate you are. Talk about how adequate you are because of who God is.”
- They face their fears- Vihn Giang. Vihn Giang is a renowned speaker globally and is recognized as one of the best communication teachers in the world. Most of his courses center on building compelling communication skills and overcoming stage fright.
Vihn mentioned that one of the things you can do to be more confident in yourself and in all your endeavors is to face your fears.
Having experienced it firsthand, facing your fears can give you heartache. But Vihn mentioned that doing the one thing that scares you can eventually boost your self-confidence and make you feel happy about yourself.
- They master one thing (subject)- Vusi Thembekwayo. Mastering one thing at a time may not be comforting to hear when you’re trying to overcome multiple fears that stifle the core of your confidence.
Or, when you’re trying to achieve your goals and dreams, achieving one goal at a time may feel that it will take a longer time to achieve the rest of them.
But realistically, tackling one thing at a time gives you the space, time, and capacity to overcome that fear or achieve that dream.”See, when you have developed confidence in yourself, you know you can trust you. So, you know the audience needs to hear what you have to say.”
This is to say that when you master one thing or subject you find confidence in yourself to share with the rest of the world.
Who is Vusi Thembekwayo ?” is many things. From a maverick, a leadership genius, a petrol head, a family man, a self-made millionaire to a dragon. He doesn’t just talk business – he lives it! He does more than simply inspire change, he’s the guy that initiates it.”
He has been the catalyst for change in businesses across the globe through expertise in strategy, leadership and sales. His debut book, the Magna Carta of Exponential was launched in Barcelona, Spain in 2017. It sold 6,000 copies on the day of launch.”
- Confident people step out of their comfort zone- Amy Purdy. “so many people talk about how you get rid of imposter syndrome; you don’t. Every time we step out of our comfort zone into something new, you’re not going to be confident. And I think that’s the thing we get confused on, too.”
“We want to be confident before we ever try something because we want to know we’re going to be good at it. We want to know we’re not going to fail. So, often times people wait until their confident to begin but confidence comes when you begin. You have to step into it, and try it and risk failure and be uncomfortable.”
Nobody can do it for you
Being confident comes from within. It comes from your willingness to step out of your comfort zone and do what it takes to make you feel good about yourself. Take courage in knowing that you don’t have to be confident before you face your fears. As Suzan Jeffers says, feel the fear and do it anyway.
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