What is Confidence?

How do you define confidence? For those of you new to my LinkedIn blog, or new to me, you should know that as a former English major turned Marketing Professor, I love words and all that they mean. So I pose this question again. What is confidence?

I define confidence as belief in your abilities. I can do this. I can finish this race. I can make this sales call. I belong at this boardroom table. Being confident in your abilities doesn't mean you're going to win, or that your ideas will be accepted. Confidence means I can do this; I have a right to be here. It doesn't mean that you're the best. It means that you can do the task at hand. Period.

Confidence is contextually bound. What I mean by that is confidence isn't an over-arching trait; people are confident in specific abilities. For example, I have confidence in my ability to teach. Part of that comes from years of practice and part is because I'm probably gifted in teaching. But I work hard at my craft and I practice getting better. Conversely, I have no confidence in my ability to cook. Even the thought of cooking dinner drives me into a panic. Yet I know, if my life depended on it, I could use the same process that I used to gain confidence in my teaching abilities (i.e. practice, improve, practice) to become confident in my ability to cook. I'm still not saying I'd be the best cook, but I'd be able to do it.

Note that there is no comparison in confidence. As Teddy Roosevelt says "comparison robs you of joy," and I would add, "and confidence." The problem with comparison is that it's a cheap way to make yourself feel good about yourself. If you compare yourself to someone who makes less money than you, is less educated than you, or has less rank than you, you feel good. But when you compare yourself to others who make more money than you, are more educated than you, or have a higher rank than you, you feel worse about yourself. And the reality is there will always be someone better than you. So stop the comparison. Put the blinders on, and focus on what you can do.

Confidence is belief in your abilities. I can do this. And it is a learned skill. How do you learn confidence? Topic of next article. Stay tuned.