What exactly is Confidence

I often see people who want more confidence. They naturally assume I know what they mean by "confidence". Even though we talk about confidence as if it's an actual thing (we use a noun to name "it"),  we know it isn't tangible. It's not something we can touch or hold in our hands. So what is it?

The internet is abundant with websites and articles about confidence. You can even feel more confident when you read those articles. It can be very encouraging to read the story of somebody who has changed their life, starting with self doubts and low self esteem, gradually turning things around and growing in self belief and confidence, doing things differently, nurturing more positive ideas about self, feeling better, pursuing goals, maybe getting a new job and developing fulfilling relationships. Sometimes reading a success story can be enough to start you on a similar journey, because that other person's story becomes a model for how you can achieve similar results.

Those successes arise not necessarily through acquiring this thing called confidence, though it can certainly feel that way, but by modelling what confident people do.

In my next blog I would like to explore what we might mean by confidence, what we might really want when we say we seek confidence and how we might know when we have it.

Meanwhile, if you have any ideas about confidence or inspiring success stories, feel free to comment.