Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Dec19/Jan20 Aspire Mag FINAL | Page 43

C onfidence matters. Deep, real, authentic happiness in life requires confidence. Without it, happiness rests on the surface. It is fleeting and fragile, often dependent upon the experience that is right in front of you. When you choose to become authentically confident, everyone around you benefits. People miss the real you if you are not able to shine and to be on fire about your purpose in the world. Your confidence and happiness are gifts to everyone around you. If you struggle in the area of confidence, you are not alone. Many women lack confidence—and it can make them feel like they’re failing no matter how much they’ve accomplished in life. Confidence is your belief in yourself. It is your belief that you can figure things out, that you can overcome the things that are put in your path, and that you are as capable and deserving as the woman next to you. I’ve seen women turn their lives around, on fire to wake up every morning, because they did the work to become a confident woman. We’ll get started by looking at four things that can get in the way of your confidence. 1.  You are overwhelmed. It’s easy to take too much on. We get drawn into robust calendars and lots of activity, When you choose to become authentically confident, everyone around you benefits. often competing with the women around us for perfection. When overwhelm kicks in, everything can start to feel like a mess. When things feel like a mess, it is easy to feel incapable—and that leads to a loss of confidence. 2. You have given others permission to hurt you.   Others’ words often have a negative impact on a woman’s confidence. Words and actions hurt women, and the effects can last a long time. Whose words have led you to feel you are not worthy? 3. You compare yourself to others.  A portion of low confidence may be rooted in comparison. In a world where carefully curated social media posts and magazine covers stare at us every day, we can get lost in our heads wondering how these other more-put-together women have figured out 43