Confidence
What Is Confidence?
Confidence means feeling sure of yourself and your abilities — not in an arrogant way, but in a realistic, secure way. Confidence isn't about feeling superior to others. It's a quiet inner knowledge that you're capable.
Confident people:
● Feel secure rather than insecure
● Know they can rely on their skills and strengths to handle whatever comes up
● feel ready for everyday challenges like tests, performances, and competitions
● think "I can" instead of "I can't"
Why Confidence Matters?
Confidence helps us feel ready for life's experiences. When we're confident, we're more likely to move forward with people and opportunities — not backaway from them. And if things don't work out at first, confidence helps us try again.
How to Be More Confident: Everyone can work to gain more confidence. Here are a few tips to try:
● Build a confident mindset. When your inner voice says "I can't," retrain it to say "I can". Or you could also say, "I know I can learn (or do) this if I put my mind to it."
● Take a safe risk. Sign up for a school committee, volunteer to help with a project or any school activity, or try out for a team or talent show. Raise your hand in class more often. Talk to everyone in class.
● Challenge yourself to do something that's just beyond your normal comfort zone. Pick something you'd like to do if only you had more confidence. Give yourself a little push and do it. Now that you've done that, pick something else to try — and keep repeating this same process. Confidence grows with every step forward.
● Know your talents and help them shine. We're taught to work hard to improve our weaknesses. Sometimes that's important, like bringing up a bad grade. But don't let working on a weakness prevent you from getting even better at the things you're good at.
● Do your homework. Study. Do assignments. Prepare for class, tests, and quizzes. Why? If you've been keeping on top of class work all along, you'll feel more confident in tests and finals. The best defence against test anxiety and school stress is to keep up and do the work steadily.
It takes courage and confidence to be real. But the more real we are, the more self-confident we become. Confidence builds self-esteem.
