Activating Your Confidence

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, confidence is “a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or reliance on one’s circumstances.” Confidence is about belief in oneself.

For many of us, our confidence builds over time. It compiles a blend of past experiences, internal beliefs, and external validation, empowering us to believe we can handle whatever is in front of us.

But what happens when you find yourself in uncharted waters? When you're facing challenging situations that drain your confidence and threaten your belief about your ability to navigate a situation?

Fortunately, confidence is not finite. As Neil Alvanzo, certified life and leadership coach, shared during our workshop on Unleashing Confidence, confidence is currency. A resource you can tap into whenever you need it.

Here’s a roadmap to activate your confidence when facing challenges:

Start with courage

The prerequisite to activating your confidence is courage. In fact, according to Mr. Alvanzo, courage is more important than confidence. Courage is the ability to confront and face your fears. It’s acknowledging the challenge at hand, allowing space for discomfort and uncertainty, and continuing to move forward. Confidence requires courage. So when you’re facing a challenging or uncertain situation, become courageous.

Shift your mindset

Adopting a growth mindset is crucial for activating confidence. When you believe your abilities and skills can be developed, challenges become growth opportunities — and overcoming challenges helps build confidence. Likewise, having a fixed mindset that avoids challenges and maintains negative beliefs about yourself and your abilities drains your confidence.

Look beyond yourself

Confidence can be amplified by recognizing there is power and ability beyond oneself. Embracing a sense of faith—whether it be in a higher power, a supportive community, or one's learning capabilities—is an essential component of confidence. It enables you to tap into your inner strength, seek guidance and support when needed, and maintain a belief in your ability to overcome challenges.

Be resilient

Finally, confidence isn’t built only by facing and overcoming challenges. It’s also developed by enduring failures, making mistakes, experiencing setbacks, and pushing through those experiences. This is resiliency and it is a cornerstone of confidence. When you're able to experience failure and bounce back stronger, you give yourself a well of confidence to pull from in the future.