Confidence - what does it mean?
At the brilliant Photo Club hosted by @withpassionandpurpose last month, Karen asked us to consider who we view as ‘confident’. The responses were fascinating - from vibrant @luinluland to @dollyparton who has always joyfully expressed who she is rather than conforming! 🌈 ✨
What confidence means to us as individuals.
👉🏻 Katy chose @estherperelofficial because her knowledge, passion and determination to openly speak about topics that she finds interesting and important give her a sense of centredness, owning herself and empowerment - to Katy, this is confidence.
👉🏻 Kenny chose Jacinta Ardern - as a world leader she has displayed a consistency in humility, empathy and other ‘female’ traits which are rarely seen in politics, however she’s managed this with authenticity and has been unapologetic about her belief that leaders can (and should) show emotion and compassion publicly. What a role model.
👉🏻 Laura chose Brene Brown for her willingness to do the hard things - face into difficult conversations (her conversations about misinformation and Joe Rogan with Spotify) and her willingness to learn and make mistakes in public. The fact that she doesn’t hide the fact when she doesn’t know something and is willing to get things wrong shows such courage, vulnerability and confidence in herself as a human.
The outcome was that everyone viewed confidence as someone willing to be their TRUE SELF, to express themselves, to be brave and not worry about what others think or about following the rules and conforming. 🙅🏼♀️
Perhaps the best thing is the collective impact, that the more people do this the more permission it gives to others to do the same. ❤️
The Myth of Confidence…
Interestingly, there was also discussion about the myth of ‘confidence’ - people who on the outside seemed confident but actually weren’t, or those quieter people who people wouldn’t necessarily describe as ‘confident’ but actually are very comfortable in their own skin. Challenging the confidence stereotypes is what we’re here for! And also, the idea that you are either confident or you are not - no one is confident all the time. There are certain situations where even the people who feel really confident in their skin have moments of growth where they are back in the discomfort and feeling unconfident. On the upside, the fact that confidence ebbs and flows for all of us means that it’s possible to impact and build confidence for yourself – what an opportunity!
Confidence may at times feel elusive - but expressing the real you may be something you can dip your toe into and embrace more - remembering that by being brave yourself, you are allowing others to feel more free in doing the same.
Here’s some of our favourite resources on confidence:
This short piece by Seth Godin - Confidence is a choice, not a symptom.
Brene Brown podcast with Jodi-Ann Burey and Ruchika Tulshyan - Stop telling women they have imposter syndrome
If you would like support and coaching around building your confidence then take a look at our coaching packages!