Confidence isn’t working into a room thinking you are better than anyone. It is knowing that you don’t have to compare yourself to anyone. Definitely, it is knowing that you don’t need to compete, you’re neither below or above… That’s building confidence!
In this article, we will be looking into some of the very few ways in which building confidence helps despite the challenges we face.
1) live loved
live loved
It’s very easy to live loved when you actually feel loved. But there are times when you would need to feel loved even when you aren’t receiving any. It may not mean that you aren’t loved, but you might just not feel it. Especially when life hits you hard till you start getting words like, ‘hurt’,’reject’,’left out’ etc I’m sure you wouldn’t want your days to be detected by moods of others. The surest love you would ever get is the love of God. Zephaniah 3:17 says,
The Lord your God is in your midst, a Warrior who saves. He would rejoice over you with joy; He will be quiet in His love (making no mention of your past sins), He would rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
Live with confidence that you are fully loved and you won’t find yourself begging others for craps of love. So when ever you feel low, remember that the Lord is in your midst and He will quiet you with His love.
2) The best will come at the right time
be confident that God will act at the right time
One of the greatest thieves of confidence is unanswered prayer. We pray because we want answers and once those answers don’t come, doubt steps in. We end up not just doubting God but doubting our own selves too. This may sound cliche, but when God moves, it’s always the right time. He’s never late.
How long before the rain stopped did God show up for Noah? He showed up for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego only when they were already in the fire. Jesus didn’t show up for Martha and Mary until Lazarus had been death for 4 days. He might not show up when you want him to, but He’d show up. We can always find ways to relate these stories to our personal lives. Knowing this, will help in building confidence even when we feel like our prayers aren’t being answered.
3) Training
confidence
It is often said that “practice makes perfect.” That is because it is in doing a thing over and over that you become a master at it. Training means doing the right thing over and over and over and over until it becomes a habit. It is learning something until you become so good at it that it boost your confidence.
Personally, one reason why I may not want to speak to a crowd might not necessarily be that I’m scared or shy of them. Often times, it is because though I have something to share, I don’t feel prepared to deliver in the right capacity. So you’ll easily get the shakiness in my voice. However, once I know that I am prepared, ah, you’d know.
Train yourself until it becomes an instinctive response to be confident. It’s definitely not a one-day thing, but it’s worth it. Training helps you to be proactive so that when the battle comes, you’d know exactly what to do.
4) Be real
build confidence by being real
In times like this where social media is trending, it is really hard to find people who aren’t faking. Everyone wants to look beautiful on every pic and so would mostly take pics on their best days. Sadly, I think that we have made social media what it is. Anyone who tries to be real will be blamed for playing the victim. Last week I posted the mind of a dark skin girl and many thought I was pathetic meanwhile I was just being real. Being real to yourself, allows you to see the areas where you need help.
You might be doing many things with God in mind but not really spending time getting refilled by God and his abundant love. We say we put God first in our lives, when really the first thing we do in the morning is check WhatsApp messages rather than checking on His Word. Sometimes we say we’re praying about our challenges when in reality we are only worried about them.
Avoid faking, recognize your weakness and bring out the strength within you. Proverbs 31:17 says
She equips herself with strength( spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task) and makes her arms strong.
There’s no way you can be confident when you are living someone else’s life.
There are many other ways to building confidence such as doing what you like, laughing and so on. I can’t exhaust the list but however, we can take the conversation to the comment section below. What do you do to boost your confidence level? (your comment might be exactly what someone needs)
Also please check out these football lessons written by L. Abinui. You would be amazed at how much you can learn about life from the almighty football.
Stop trying to be in her shoes or anyone’s shoes. Why would you even want to be in her shoes? Do you know what’s in it. Don’t think because she’s all dressed up and in the shoes of your dreams means she’s comfortable in them. All that glitters is not gold! The shoes may be hurting terribly but you have no clue about it. Now you may think that even if it doesn’t fit her it just might fit you. But remember that what isn’t yours won’t fit you. Simply because ITS NOT YOURS. Be self content!
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never ever have enough.
Rather, be content with what you have. Learn to see the good in and around you instead of bad. If you can’t, ask God to help you remove the log that’s blinding you. Seriously, you need to see how much of a masterpiece you are. You need to see how much beauty you carry, you need to see how their eyes glow with amazement when they listen to you speak and how the knowledge you have lightens up their minds. You need to see the smile you put on their faces.
Sometimes just a silly joke from you, makes them burst in laughter. (Or you think it means nothing to make people smile). You need to see how they smile from molars to molars after being fed from your kitchen or how you clothe them with the little you have. Like seriously, you need to see how proud they are to say somewhere that they know you. You need to see the benefits and privileges that comes with knowing you. You are smart, super hardworking and intelligent. How can’t you be content with this? Don’t these little things matter
Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, it is the realization of how much you already have.
What does it mean to be self content?
Being self content is not about putting yourself above everybody. Instead, it is understanding that there will always be somebody who’s better than you at something as well as someone who’s not. Being content is knowing, accepting and loving yourself just the way you are. It entails having an understanding about who you are and where you are going. It is definitely not about comparing or competing with others but involves you competing with your own self.
I find this story very inspiring especially with respect to the topic, i hope it inspires you too.
The stone cutter
There was once a stone cutter who was dissatisfied with himself and with his position in life. One day he passed a wealthy merchant’s house. Through the open gateway, he saw many fine possessions and important visitors. “How powerful that merchant must be!” thought the stone cutter. He became very envious and wished that he could be like the merchant.
To his great surprise, he suddenly became the merchant, enjoying more luxuries and power than he had ever imagined, but envied and detested by those less wealthy than himself. Soon a high official passed by, carried in a sedan chair, accompanied by attendants and escorted by soldiers beating gongs. Everyone, no matter how wealthy, had to bow low before the procession. “How powerful that official is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be a high official!”
Then he became the high official, carried everywhere in his embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by the people all around. It was a hot summer day, so the official felt very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He looked up at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected by his presence. “How powerful the sun is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be the sun!”
Then he became the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone, scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers and laborers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth, so that his light could no longer shine on everything below. “How powerful that storm cloud is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be a cloud!”
Then he became the cloud, flooding the fields and villages, shouted at by everyone. But soon he found that he was being pushed away by some great force, and realized that it was the wind. “How powerful it is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be the wind!”
Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off the roofs of houses, uprooting trees, feared and hated by all below him. But after a while, he ran up against something that would not move, no matter how forcefully he blew against it – a huge, towering rock. “How powerful that rock is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be a rock!”
Then he became the rock, more powerful than anything else on earth. But as he stood there, he heard the sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the hard surface, and felt himself being changed. “What could be more powerful than I, the rock?” he thought. He looked down and saw far below him the figure of a stone cutter.
Source: unknown.
Contentment is an attitude that says,”I will be satisfied with what God has given me.”
“I am different not less”
Let’s be real
We’re humans and there’s a very thin line between admiration and envy. With the way people are ‘making it’ these days, it’s very easy for envious thoughts to set in. However, how you manage those thoughts is what really matters. What helps me is, whenever I notice that I’m getting envious, immediately I become fully aware and conscious of the real life challenges they may be facing. Then I ask myself, will I be able to bear their pain?
Before you start wishing you were in someone shoes, maybe you should ask yourself this question, can you bear their pain?
prayer
What ever may be your situation or challenge, I pray that you would open your eyes and see that you are special and unique. You don’t need to be someone else to be special, you just need to be you!
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