How to be confidently confident

Not so long ago, there was an eight-year-old girl who had been confidently tricking her parents, teachers and peer group into believing she could read. As each day passed without her secret being discovered her confidence grew in the belief that she would continue getting away with her deception indefinitely. Eventually though the inevitable happened. Her secret was discovered resulting in her being sent for reading lessons with the five-year-olds at school. We can smile, be assertive, take in a deep breath and, with seeming confidence, deliver presentations to hundreds of people. Unfortunately, without possessing that core element of self-belief, the veneer of confidence will inevitably crumble. This new situation saw the little girl’s confidence disappear over night for not only had she been tricking all those around her for so long, she’d also been tricking herself. Believing she had such confidence was a survival tactic backed up by fear and caused by a lack of self-belief. From the moment her secret was discovered, fear spilled into the space instantly left vacant by her transient confidence. A sad little story perhaps but it’s one that has a happy ending. Forty-two years later and I’m brimming with confidence.