confIdence

By Susie Sands, Account Supervisor

Every day we are faced with challenges at all levels. There is one trait that I feel can ultimately help us to overcome these obstacles and lead us to success, that trait is confidence. I often times think that when people hear the word they think about the ‘I’ in confidence, the need to build the strength from within to develop this so called confidence and readiness for any situation.
As defined by Merriam – Webster online, Confidence is 1) a feeling or consciousness of one’s power or of reliance on one’s circumstances 2) confidence is the quality or state of being certain. There is a 3 & 4 definition but for the purpose of this dialogue we will focus on above stated 1 & 2.

Let’s back track for a second and discuss how we gain confidence and how that trait really gets developed because I truly believe building confidence is not always done on your own. Think about what gives you that feeling of assurance AKA confidence, and then flip that around and think about a time when you may have lacked confidence. What was missing during that time that made you feel doubt?

My personal experience has taught me that the one commonality during situations of uncertainty or hesitancy is that I wasn’t well prepared. So how can one better prepare for the unknown? It is hard to get ready for the unknown but we can do our best. In my opinion preparing ourselves isn’t about searching within that will help develop the skills needed for confidence, yet it is providing yourself with the right solutions to give you that feeling of sureness. So what are the tools that will help you to feel positive in everything you do?
The right tools for building confidence come from the people, resources and information around you. Use the resources available to you: read blogs and news updates, push yourself to have conversations with people who are well versed on a subject and ask questions. Then take this information and make it your own. The only way you are going to feel assured that you have the information you need to know to have “smart” conversations is to fuel yourself with the information and knowledge on the subject .

All of this preparation will help you to gain the knowledge needed to empower you. Over time the confidence that emanates from you will be well received by friends, colleagues and clients. This one trait can help lead to a lot of opportunity in business and in life, so don’t just rely on yourself; rely on the people and resources around you to make the ‘I’ in your confidence strong.

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