Thursday, October 23, 2008

Snails, Tails, Sugar, and Spice

There's the rhyme that says boys are made of "snails and puppy dog tails", while girls are made of "sugar, and spice, and everything nice". It would be nice if 'confidence' or 'self-confidence' were added to those rhymes. (Then they won't rhyme anymore - ehhh). I know that everyone wasn't born with self-confidence. It's something that maybe you picked up along the way. Do you have confidence/self-confidence? Was it natural or did you work at it?

I'll admit that I haven't always had confidence. Whether it was in looks, or brains, or likeability, my self-confidence could wain depending upon who I was around. If I was around fashionable, pretty, glamour girls, I was ugly. If I was around brainiacs, then I was dumb. If I was around out-going people, then I wasn't liked or called uppity/stuck-up/snobby when really it was just shyness. But after years of lacking self-confidence, I finally found that it didn't matter who I was around or what they were doing or what they had. Just like everyone else in this world, I have talents and abilities whether they can be seen or not. And I can put them to good use. I know some people who have confidence in their performances and professions.

Last weekend, I attended a dance performance, and it was really entertaining. There was a good mix of dancers, but the ones that stood out were a married couple from Russia/Belgium (I forgot where exactly). I think that they are the owners of a dance studio. Their performance was excellent! I've never seen ballroom dancing in person, but I can tell you that I was mesmerized. They had great outfits and dance skills. But what made it so exciting was confidence. They 'knew' that they were good. Not in a 'cocky, I'm all that' way. It was a 'I'm going to show you what I know I can do' kind of way. My eyes were on them the whole time. Grace, elegance, and confidence made them stand out from the rest.

Two young ladies that I know show confidence in their jobs. They're very knowledgeable about laws of a union or laws of government contracts. People can ask them questions and know that they're going to get the right answer. If they don't know the answer, they know how to find it. I've known both for many years, and I'm in awe of their confidence. It's rubbed off on me. I've learned a lot about confidence and speaking up from both of them. (I've known them a looooonnnggg time). Maybe they can write some confidence comments on this blog ;-)

So that's my take on confidence. If you have it, it can rub off on others. If you don't have it, you can definitely get it...

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