By Bronwyn Ison
What is confidence? I believe confidence is stepping out of your comfort zone and attacking your fear before you allow it to attack you first. It doesn’t matter if you get it right the first time, or if ever, but the mere fact that you tried implies you believed in yourself no matter the outcome. I believe with each experience we gain knowledge and learn to apply our findings and apply our lessons to future endeavors. Confidence is not settling for mediocrity at a four or five. It’s believing you are “10” all of the time.
As I prepare for a special retreat in San Diego, CA, called “Hero Up,” I’ll be speaking about confidence for everyday living. I’m honored to be invited to share my experiences and how I was able to achieve greater confidence in my life. So you know, it takes diligence and consistent nurturing to maintain everyday confidence. Everyone goes through trials and tribulations in life. It’s how we handle, adjust and work through our situations that eventually tells a lot about who we are becoming and why we had to learn the lesson.
We’ve all had moments when we’ve felt broken, saddened, hurt, frustrated, disappointed and hopeless. These are genuine feelings. Unfortunately, life is full of ups and downs and each of us have not seen our last. Keep in mind, our negative feelings can linger. You must move forward.
Here are three key components to living confidently
- A confident person knows they are loved. When we feel loved, we know we are loved. This allows us to feel more whole and complete. Everyone needs and desires love. Keep in mind not everyone is going to accept and love you. I strongly encourage you to focus on those who do and relinquish the ones who don’t.
- A confident person refuses to live in fear. I believe fear comes from an evil source. For to long I would allow other people’s thoughts or opinions (their fears) question my thoughts and decisions. As soon as I started to listen to what I needed and extended myself beyond my comfort zone, my life changed for the better. Approach your fears with an, “I CAN” attitude.
- A confident person does not see their setbacks as failures. In fact, this is the perfect time for exponential growth. I’ve had numerous setbacks of which at the time I wasn’t sure how I’d ever recover. You have to keeping going. Treat your uncomfortable circumstances with patience. Eventually, you will learn why you had to endure the pain.
Confidence doesn’t come easy for most. You can decipher whether or not you believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in who you are then why should others? We gain greater self-esteem when we accomplish or goals and dreams. Keep on!
Bronwyn Ison is the owner of Evolve Yoga and www.bronwynison.com Online yoga classes for overall balanced living. 760-564-YOGA (9642)
