“With confidence, you have won before you have started.”
— Marcus Garvey
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My Dad really was a pretty cool guy. I know I talk about it a lot but he really shaped who I am as an adult today and now, 8 years later, I still miss him like crazy. So many of the life lessons he taught me continue to help me year after year still.
And man did he have a lot of life lessons in his 58 years.
My father was an avid fencer and while in college he won the Florida Fencing Tournament and qualified for the Olympics. Not wanting to risk a career for the four years of necessary Olympics training, he opted not to pursue it and instead went into finance. But needless to say my father knew a thing or two about competition.
During my high school years I played both tennis and badminton (eventually placing at the state level though nothing in comparison to my father’s athletic achievements) and won many games listening to my father’s coaching.
He would always say, “You’ve won the game before you’ve stepped onto the court.”
He said that to me time and time again. Along with “wear red, it’s the most intimidating color on the field”.
The two biggest pieces of advice he’d give me before a match (hmmm, I wonder why I wear red lipstick to boost my confidence?). And as adult I’ve found both to be true both on the field AND off. Especially when it comes to confidence.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about confidence. Confidence really requires a somewhat ignorant approach to life in a way. An optimistic expectation that things will go in your favor. As a textbook over-thinker, I don’t naturally gravitate towards this mentality. I’m generally always thinking about what can go wrong (it happens when your life has been as chaotic as mine) and anxiously analyzing possible problems in each scenario (I made a great financial analyst once upon a time).
But I’m finding my worrying personality to be quite the drag these days. It’s probably ALL just because I’m reading this book but lately I’ve been doing my best to boost my confidence, my creativity, and my life-outlook in order to feel happier during these trying times.
Has confidence played a major role in your life? What are your best tips for harnessing it?
