For some of us, confidence may be more myth than truth. Some are born with it and some are, well, not born with it. If you’re like me and fall in to the latter category, what do we do about it? How do we grow our confidence? Sometimes I just want to be a daredevil! And by “daredevil” I mean, I would like to be able to speak in front of a crowd without breaking out in a cold sweat or post something on social media without worrying if people will think it’s silly.
So again, how do we gain confidence? I’ve done a little research, listened to a couple of podcasts, and dove into God’s Word. The following are three things I’ve put together that may help build confidence.
- Faith. Confidence comes from your faith. Our faith changes everything. When you know who you are and Whose you are, the more confident you will be. The more we know God, the more we know ourselves. What does the Bible say about God’s love for me? Check out the scriptures listed below.
- Psalms 36:7
- John 3:16
- John 13:1
- Romans 5:8
- 1 John 4:9-11
- 1 John 3:1
- Courage. Courage is fear untested. You’ve heard the saying, “Fake it until you make it.” Pretend being confident until you really are. Have the courage to step out in spite of your fear. Don’t wait until you’re not scared to do the thing. If you’re waiting for the confidence bomb to fall on you, you’ll be waiting a long time. Just like that proverbial 10 pounds you want to lose, if you don’t take action, you’ll never lose it.
- Practice being confident. Just like going to the gym, you need to exercise your confidence muscle. We probably should start with a moderate walk on the tread mill before signing up for a 5k/10k run. The more we practice, the better we get.
Strong, outgoing confidence may not be something you were born with but before you know it, you’ll look back and wonder why you were ever afraid to speak up or speak out. You’ll be leading the pack! I have confidence in you, my sweet friend!