Having confidence in yourself and others plays a big part in our lives. It determines to a large degree whether you’ll be successful in most of your endeavors. Everyone needs confidence and the more you have the better.

The word confidence refers to many things.

•You believe in yourself and your abilities to do things. You have the knowledge and skills to do what needs to be done, and you follow through and do it. You are capable. You have accomplished things in the past and now have more confidence to try more challenging things in the future.


•You do things on a consistent basis, which sustains self-confidence. Your are reliable in your own mind and in the minds of others too.

•You are honest with yourself and in your dealings with others. People trust you.

•You are experienced. Wisdom has been gained and good judgment has been developed. These things help you to make good choices. You can see the difference between right and wrong and will choose the right. This is why people have faith in you and will follow you.

•As you develop self-discipline, you gain confidence in yourself to run your life.

 

Just as you have confidence in yourself and those you know, you should have confidence in other things too. You can have confidence in your car to get you to a destination, especially if you service and maintain it properly. You can have confidence in a business you operate when you learn how to run that type of business. You may have confidence in certain stocks, after learning about them, and thus you’ll invest in them. You should have confidence in your employer that he will treat you fairly and operate the business successfully. You should have confidence in government at various levels. This helps you to abide by their decisions, obey the laws made, and pay your taxes. You should have confidence in God and His counsel to lead and guide you in life. This encourages you to pray and obey His laws.

In essence, confidence allows us to take on new tasks, face new challenges, and meet new people. We are ready to learn new things and develop new skills. We will listen to the views of others without having feelings of fear or insecurity, nor having our own positions or beliefs being threatened. We will take some reasonable risks to get ahead or improve our situation in life or to help others. Confidence is necessary for a happy life.

Being confident does not imply we should be over confident. A person who is overconfident often does things too fast and makes more mistakes. He doesn’t always listen to the good ideas and wisdom given by others. This leads to negative consequences for himself and others he may influence directly or though his decisions.

Confidence should not lead to pride. A proud person is not humble or teachable, and he boasts too much in his own skills and abilities. He overestimates his strengths and underestimates his weaknesses. By the time he fully discovers this, a lot of damage has been done. Being proud is being stupid.

It’s easy to build confidence in ourselves. Simply select things you’re familiar with and learn to do them well and on a consistent basis. You can even excel in many things. This is your foundation to build upon. Then begin to add in more things to learn, test out, or do. Some things may require greater effort, but with time you’ll get use to this increased effort. Your knowledge will expand and skills will develop, and eventually your capabilities will go up. As this happens, your confidence automatically goes up too.

Each thing you do adds to your confidence. Merely begin the best way you can. Try the best methods and techniques you know. Learn from others. Work hard. Be consistent. There will probably be some setbacks or failure. If you get knocked down, get back up again. Do not accept failure for the task, nor view it as a failure for you as a person. Continue to strive toward your goal. With time you will have some success. It may take longer and not be as easy as you originally wanted. You may not have as much success, nor will it always come in the ways you expected it. However, you will have learned and grown as an individual in the process. You are now stronger and more confident. This is the only way to become confident.

As you gain confidence in various tasks, roles, activities, and responsibilities, you become confident in yourself. This is the ultimate goal. This is what gives you personal power and satisfaction too. You may not become a champion or millionaire or president, but you can win in many smaller ways. So be positive and take on life. Make a commitment now to put more of yourself into life in order to get more out of it. Show it what you can really do. In the future you will look back and view this decision as one of the most important events of your life.