Where does confidence come from? More importantly, from where do you gain your confidence?
To be successful in any endeavor it takes confidence in yourself and your unique abilities. Success and confidence create a flywheel effect that continually builds upon itself. When we achieve success we become more confident. When we are confident in our abilities, success usually follows. But how do you build up the inner strength in the beginning? To succeed you must believe in yourself, work hard, grow perpetually, and pursue mastery in your respective skills, knowing that you have the unique abilities that will help you succeed.
We gain confidence in part through the knowledge we choose to pursue. By deciding who we want to become, how we wish to see the world, and which skills we choose to pursue, we can create the path to mastery that will lead us to our full potential. Confidence is not about being better than other people. Confidence is acquiring knowledge and working hard to reach the success you desire.
Pursuing mastery over any skill or aspect of oneself requires the lifelong commitment to learning and improving every day. The master knows he is never finished learning and always will have more to learn. This is how mastery and true confidence is achieved. We lay our ego aside and accept that mastery or success is an ongoing journey and not a destination. There will always be work to do on the path to mastery and the work will at times be hard, but it will always be rewarding and worth pursuing.
How do I personally gain confidence? Pursue mastery? Build inner strength?
Every day I work to be a better trainer and movement coach by studying other coaches. I work to become a better business owner studying other businesses who align with my core values. I work to become a better Jiu Jitsu athlete by setting aside time to train and work with my coach. I want to learn. I want to get better. Not to be better than anyone else, but to be better than in am in my wildest dreams, to be better than I could possibly imagine. Do I think the road to mastery in any of these areas will be easy? No. Will I ever get to the point where I have learned all there is to learn? Absolutely not. The way to get better is to be willing to make mistakes, learn from these mistakes and keep going. Fear of failure holds us back. I have to believe in myself and my vision and know that I can achieve it no matter the obstacle.
I have a great cheering section that supports my vision. My wife is smart and very supportive. I can rely on her for advice and support. My work team supports my vision and they work hard to make HF a supportive environment for our members. The members at my studio trust me and my staff are supportive of what we feel is best for the studio and they support other members who come through our doors. Seeing my vision unfold and become a reality in front of my eyes has increased my own confidence. I know the work I have put in has helped me reach this level of success – it all starts with believing in yourself!