Self-confidence, then, is the courage to know yourself, believe in yourself, and act on your beliefs. A definition of self-confidence is a positive feeling about oneself and the world that leads to courageous actions born out of a sense of self-respect.
The above definition explains what self-confidence is. These examples illustrate what self-confidence can look like. Self-confidence means:
- Valuing yourself for who you are regardless of the blunders you make, the type of work you do or don’t do, etc.
- Feeling good about yourself; feeling worthy despite imperfections
- Being courageous enough to stand up for yourself and be assertive
- Knowing that you’re worthy of others’ respect and friendship
- Knowing and accepting the whole of you, both your strengths and weaknesses
What Self-Confidence Is Not
To better understand what self-confidence is, it’s helpful to know what self-confidence is not. Self-confidence is not:
- Believing that you’re perfect, or thinking that you should be perfect
- Holding yourself to unrealistic expectations and standards
- Living a life free of problems, pain, and difficulty (but self-confidence does help you cope with life’s problems, pain, and difficulties)
- Being selfish (quite the opposite, for when you’re confident in who you are and what you can do, you’re more likely to reach out to and connect with others)
A lack of self-confidence negatively impacts someone’s quality of life. Having little self-confidence creates feelings of
- Self-doubt
- Unworthiness
- Inferiority to others
- Apathy
- Loss of enjoyment
- Anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges
Self-confidence is experiencing genuinely positive feelings about yourself while accepting your faults and foibles. A definition of self-confidence is acting assertively because you believe in your inherent worth. Self-confidence means that even when you don’t like things about yourself, you love your whole self.
