The word confidence scares people today. Confidence carries a connotation of being cocky, overbearing, or arrogant. If you are boosting yourself up to anyone you see and constantly glorifying your accomplishments, then I see how that is cocky; however, people are afraid to be confident because they don’t want to act like the description above.
Confidence is a good thing.
Confidence is going to set you apart in athletics, work, or school. The best sports teams show up for a game, match, or meet knowing that they can beat anyone standing in front of them. They don’t need to brag about that to the world because they know it in the hearts and minds. The best employees have confidence in their abilities and the best students have confidence in what they have learned.
Confidence doesn’t just come out of thin air, unless you are LaVar Ball. Confidence comes from consistent development and hard work. When you work towards a goal, you build confidence as you get closer. You gain confidence in your sport when you have multiple good workouts in a row. You gain confidence in school by studying the material.
Many of you have put in the work worthy of confidence. Believe in yourself. Have confidence in your abilities, knowledge, and skills. What if you showed up to the gym, track, or field telling yourself that you are going to kill every workout? What if you showed up to class telling yourself that the test is going to get destroyed instead of you? That mentality shift could make a big difference in your performance.
Bob Goff says that we need to tell people who they are rather than what to do. It’s great when this affirmation comes from others, but you can tell yourself who you are also. Tell yourself that you are smart, good-looking, and ready for success. Tell yourself that you are ready for any challenge in front of you. You can boost your mood when you talk to yourself instead of listening to that negative voice in your head.
You are smarter than you think. You are not meant to be average. Be confident. Believe in yourself. If you don’t then who will?
I believe in you. I have confidence in you.
For some of my close friends reading, “Own that ponytail. Work that updo.”
I appreciate you.
-JP