Why Confidence Should Know No Age
You might’ve heard the saying “confidence comes with age.” And that rings true for many people today, who have grown up knowing insecurity, second-guessing, and fear of being judged until they’re already halfway through life or even later. But the truth of the matter is that if your daughter is going through the first half of her life, or even longer, holding onto the pressure of fitting in, battling insecurities, there’s a chance that opportunities could pass her by.
So, let’s work on shifting that mindset. It’s time to teach our girls the importance of being confident, and the reason why confidence is such a power lever in life.
For starters, let’s let go of the stigma that confident equals conceited. Some people will downplay their skills, their best qualities, or their abilities in fear of looking arrogant or vain. Teach your daughter to be PROUD of the things she’s accomplished, and the things that make her unique. Teach her that feeling good about herself is okay, and in fact, encouraged! And remember, confidence isn’t synonymous with perfection.
If your daughter goes through high school, college, etc., lacking confidence in herself, it might hold her back from saying “yes” to opportunities that could quite literally change her life. For example, she might have the drive and ambition to run for class president, but the fear of what others might think, the fear of failing, or the fear of being disliked could all be deciding factors for why she decides not to just go for the gold. Instead, work on confidence-building skills that reaffirm why she WILL succeed in the role, and that failure is nothing but a learning tool that EVERYONE experiences. Failure is not the end-all-be-all of success, of leadership, of anything.
A lack of confidence can also lead to avoiding taking steps out of their comfort zone, which could include trying out for a team, auditioning for a play or concert, joining a club, etc. If confidence is instilled at a young age, though, it’s easy to take those positive risks without fear of failure or judgement.
It’s no longer acceptable to categorize confidence as a “lesson” that is learned with time. Some women don’t master true confidence until they’ve already missed out on opportunities they might’ve said “yes” to if they had just known what they know now. If we can send the elevator back down, and teach our girls at a young age to let nothing hold them back, they won’t have to wait until their 30s or 40s to understand how much they’ll benefit from simply having confidence in themselves.
If we can instill that now, there’s no limit to what our daughters can achieve!
