Confidence Inspiration

Journaling Prompts:

Self Esteem and Girls: Body image is a big issue for teen and tween girls (and adult women!). As children, we are exposed to loads of media images of what women are ‘supposed’ to look like. What’s your relationship with your body and with your femininity? Can you look at yourself in the mirror and smile, or do you cringe at what you see? If you have given birth, how has carrying and giving birth to a baby changed your body and your mind? If you have a daughter, a niece, or if you could go back and talk to yourself as a little girl, what would you say to show her that her body is beautiful exactly as it is today?

When I grow up I want to be...: Not all of us grow up believing in ourselves. Some of us look to others to validate us and don’t easily develop the inner strategies for maintaining our self-confidence. Some of us are lucky, and grew up with people who told us we could be or do anything! What was your childhood experience? Did you dream big and know that you could achieve your wildest dreams, or did you think it probably wouldn’t work out? What did you always want to accomplish? How have your dreams for your life changed over time? What are the big things you still want to accomplish? What will it take, inside and outside, to get there?

Aha Moments: Have you experienced moments of total self-confidence, times when you thought that you could do anything you set your mind to? What gave you that confidence? How could tap into those experiences again to recreate that feeling of self-assurance? How did you get outside your comfort zone and rise to the occasion?

Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway: Many of us grow up thinking that if something frightens us, we shouldn’t do it. It turns out that some level of fear or anxiety is quite normal when doing something new or unfamiliar. Often, we wait for the fear to dissipate before we try something – but in many cases, the fear doesn’t move, and neither do we. One strategy is to go ahead and do what we fear even though we fear it. If we can learn to tolerate the discomfort, we will be exposed to the potential for great success. Everything worth having is worth working for – and if it didn’t take work, we might not appreciate having the positive results. And having a victory under our belts can help greatly next time we’re faced with a challenge. What do you fear? What fears have you overcome?

Living Out Loud: Are you afraid of what other people think of you and your choices? True confidence enables us to declare ourselves – to know and share who we are inside despite fear of rejection or reprisals. Have you ever let someone else determine your path or choices, and if so, how did you feel? In what ways, large and small, do you show yourself to the world? Did you pick a career no one would understand? Did you date or marry someone your parent’s didn’t like? Do you have a tattoo, a piercing, or do you dress in a way that’s totally unique and quintessentially you?

Quotes:

All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure. - Mark Twain

Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence. - Robert Frost

Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings. - Samuel Johnson

The man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others. - Hasidic Saying

You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through. - Rosalynn Carter

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do. - Eleanor Roosevelt

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy .- Norman Vincent Peale

Concentration comes out of a combination of confidence and hunger.- Arnold Palmer

If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time.- Anna Freud

It is confidence in our bodies, minds and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures, new directions to grow in, and new lessons to learn - which is what life is all about. - Oprah Winfrey

No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit. - Ansel Adams

Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward the life that God intended for you with grace, strength, courage, and confidence. - Og Mandino

Morale is the state of mind. It is steadfastness and courage and hope. It is confidence and zeal and loyalty. It is elan, esprit de corps and determination. - General George Catlett Marshall

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained. - Marie Curie

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. - Eleanor Roosevelt

It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes. - Sally Field

Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right. - Henry Ford

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am not a has-been. I am a will be. - Lauren Bacall

Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong. - Peter T. Mcintyre

You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.- Michael Jordan

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.- Edmund Hillary

You have brains in your head.You have feet in your shoes.You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.You're on your own.And you know what you know.You are the guy who'll decide where to go.- Dr. Seuss

Eventually I discovered for myself the utterly simple prescription for creativity: be intensely yourself. Don't try to be outstanding; don't try to be a success; don't try to do pictures for others to look at - just please yourself. - Ralph Steiner

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. - Anais Nin

Links:

Girls Inc. - Inspiring Girls To Be Strong, Smart and Bold

Expanding Your Horizons – motivating young women in science and mathematics

Lifetime Television’s ‘How to Look Good Naked’

Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty

National Association for Self Esteem

Reading List:

The Courage to Be Yourself: A Woman's Guide to Emotional Strength and Self-Esteem

Women and Self-Esteem: Understanding and Improving the Way We Think and Feel About Ourselves

Honoring the Self: Self-Esteem and Personal Transformation