The "C" word...

Confidence and cockiness. One is good to possess, the other is something you should do without, both are easy to misconstrue. What's cockiness? Being arrogant, considering yourself superior in a sense. Uhhh... NO. Who wants to hang around someone who carries themselves like they are better than you? Not me. What is confidence? Being sure of yourself, having a sense of pride in who you are. Now nothing's wrong with that.

May, this month let's discuss confidence. Everyone should have this, but not everyone does. It can be taught, it can be something you grow into, it can be something that comes from when someone else tells you something about yourself, or it can just come naturally.

I was taught to have confidence. It was literally instilled in me at the age of 6. Now at 6 years old, I had no idea about the importance of having it or even what it really meant, but growing up, I definitely appreciated being taught to have it at a young age. Everything requires confidence because it helps you not to break. Even in the hardest situations or when you doubt yourself, or get told no or experience failure, confidence is one of the things that helps you to push forward. At 6, I constantly looked in the mirror and told myself "I am beautiful, I am talented, I am smart, I am special and that I am destined for greatness". Looking myself in the eyes and saying these things made me believe it, therefore I carried myself as such. I was able to take this everywhere I went and it has honestly helped so much. It definitely helped me to not fold and be able to be resilient in trying situations.

How can you gain confidence? Well it comes from within. You have to honestly believe it in order to have it. Simple things like reminding yourself of who you are (or the things you want to be) everyday, making sticky notes and placing them places you always go to so you can always read them and see them, doing things that make you feel good, these things go a long way. When you believe in yourself, no one or nothing can bring you down. I'm not everyone's cup of tea, but the confidence I possess does not allow me to care about that. Confidence goes a very long way and of everything to have as a quality, I can easily say confidence is the most important. Even when you don't fully believe it, forcing positive thoughts in your head is completely necessary. It's a step in the right direction. In life, many people may give up on you, but you absolutely cannot give up on yourself.

Confidence helps push you. When you possess this, you act accordingly and things flow through this trait. When you have confidence, people can see that, which makes them want to get to know you, it may help you get that job, it may help you land that role, it may help you get a lot of things in life. It's something you possess internally, but it reads all over your presence and exterior. It's in your walk, your talk, in your style, confidence can read effort physically.

From when you wake up, to when you get dressed, to when you head out the door, to when you get where you're going, to when you come back in to lay your head down, always remind yourself of who you are and never let anyone tell you different. Take your confidence literally everywhere you go!

#confidence #may #cockiness #effort #resilience