Why Confidence Should Know No Age
Written by Kelly Roach
You may have heard the saying “confidence comes with age.” And that rings true for many people today, who have grown up knowing insecurity, second-guessing, and fear of being judged until they’re already halfway through life or even later.
The truth of the matter is that if you are going through life holding onto the pressure of fitting in and battling insecurities, there’s a chance that opportunities could pass you by. We need to learn the importance of being confident, and the reason why confidence is such a power lever in life.
Here are few tips to help along the way:
Confident ≠ Conceited
For starters, let go of the stigma that confident equals conceited. Some people will downplay their skills, their best qualities, or their abilities in fear of looking arrogant or vain. Teach yourself to be PROUD of the things you’ve accomplished, and the things that make you unique. Understand that feeling good about yourself is okay, and in fact, encouraged! And remember, confidence isn’t synonymous with perfection.
Failure Is Okay
If you are going through your days lacking confidence, it might hold you back from saying “yes” to opportunities that could quite literally change your life. For example, you might have the drive and ambition to pursue something new, but the fear of what others might think, the fear of failing, or the fear of being disliked could all be deciding factors for why you decide not to just go for the gold. Work on confidence-building skills that reaffirm why you WILL succeed in the role, and remind yourself that failure is nothing but a learning tool that EVERYONE experiences. Failure is not the end of success, of leadership, or of anything.
It’s no longer acceptable to categorize confidence as a “lesson” that is learned with time. Some women don’t master true confidence until they’ve already missed out on opportunities they might’ve said yes to if they had just known what they know now. Do the work and commit to yourself that you are worthy of feeling like the best version of yourself.
There is no limit to the benefits you can receive from simply having confidence in yourself and knowing your true worth, inside and out.
Forever an optimist and ultimate chaos-coordinator, Kelly Roach has mastered the art of building a successful online empire with a toddler in tow. Kelly’s past experience as an NFL Cheerleader, Fortune 500 executive and now a serial entrepreneur and Co-Founder of The Courageous Brand has helped her hone her ability to bring out the brilliance in women of all walks of life and give them the strategy and support to achieve freedom and fulfillment by building their own freedom-based online business.
*a version of this article was previously published at giverhercourage.com