When it comes to talking about successful and influential people, there are a few words that we tend to throw around without fully grasping what they actually mean. ‘Confidence’ is one such word. What is confidence? How do you gain more of it? Are there universal scales and standards by which confidence levels are measured and if so, how does confidence co-relate with success? I would like to invite you on a journey in discovering more with me.
Confidence is a vital part of the successful initiation, pursuit and completion of difficult tasks. Lack of confidence then, could be one of the primary reasons for many good ideas not making it to the implementation stage. If we delve into the etymology of the word ‘confidence,’ we find that the prefix, ‘con,’ is Latin, meaning ‘with’ or ‘together.’ The root, ‘fido,’ translates into ‘trust,’ ‘believe,’ ‘confide in.’ The word was thus intended to convey that other people were an integral part of an individual’s development in the area of trust.
For me, confidence doesn’t mean being so sure of myself that I don’t need to ask for help, but more that asking for help isn’t an issue. So how can we be sure of ourselves despite our shortcomings?
Knowing that you’re perfectly formed by a perfect God for the fulfillment of a perfect purpose within a perfect time frame is a good place to start. You see, God has already equipped you to fulfill His calling for your life, whatever that may be. In order for you to accomplish the tasks He has set out for you, He has given you gifts and talents you know deep down you have. So in essence, it’s your calling that defines which of your gifts you should use and develop, not the other way around. Taking hold of this concept is just the start of a journey to fulfill your particular calling.
Going further, not only does this free you up to apply your craft everyday, it allows you to release others to take their respective places around you. Confidence literally means to trust or believe together with others in an interdependent community.
These thoughts are foundational if you’re leading a team or spearheading a business. You need to be able to recognise your calling, the gifts that you have to meet that calling, and the people that you need to get amongst you to fill in the gaps.
Being a creative individual, I know how hard it can be to “put yourself out there” when you express yourself creatively. We tend to associate ourselves with what we produce – our output. We hang onto every word and criticism about our work, and if our source of identity is derived from our task/output, we come off feeling less than ideal.
My point is not that our output isn’t important – cos it is, but rather that we should be placing more emphasis on our input. God says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, carefully knitted together in our mothers’ wombs. Psalm 139:13-16 is a good indication of how much care our Creator took in putting us together. If He took placed that much importance on designing and crafting us, there is no doubt that we’re meant to fulfill a specific purpose. Now there’s something to have confidence in!
Rohan Adarkar
