I was in way over my head… and I knew it. Trying to land my first professional job in a way-too-big city, I had been entirely too ambitious. Having moved five hours from my small- town home, I was in desperate need of a job to fund this big step. If I tanked, what would I do? Certain that I had oversold myself, my mind began to spin.
What have I done? Am I really as competent as I said I was? What about all the jargon I don’t know? Why, oh why did I interview for this position? Am I even capable of this? What was I thinking? I don’t even have a college degree! I should have just stuck with what I am comfortable with because now I’m really in trouble!
My mind kept pushing me closer and closer to the cliff of failure. I couldn’t take the doubt inside of me. Skepticism stole my peace by day and my sleep by night.
I decided I just couldn’t sit around and wait for failure. On my first day, I located the Human Resources department, sat down with the gal who hired me and... talked myself right out of the job. Yes, I did! My employer was kind enough to find another position for me in another department that didn’t require me to dress a certain way or sit at a high-profile desk. My new position (in the warehouse) was out of sight — and probably out of my employers’ mind.
How’s that for lacking confidence?
Are you that woman? If so, you won’t be for long.
Maybe you’ve talked yourself out of so many opportunities that you question whether or not you can actually move forward. In fact, numb could describe how you feel on many days, simply surviving.
Don’t be too hard on yourself! Surviving is not actually an entirely bad place to be. We all want more than survival though. We want to know we matter. We want to live a life that makes a difference and in that process experience joy, peace, and hope — the abundant life Jesus spoke of.
I’ve discovered that finding confidence often means making a move when (and most often when) I think I can’t!
Sometimes we have to do what we need to do even when we don’t have the confidence to do it. And the process of doing the thing we need to do when we don’t have the confidence to do it is just what helps us find the confidence we need!
I think God actually orchestrates this whole thing, putting us in situations that demand our dependence on Him. That’s how it appears to me as I’ve been studying the Bible.
So... good news, then! You’re in great company. If you feel like your confidence is lacking or lost, then it’s the perfect time to act.
Make your move especially when you think you can’t!
To make this move, we’re going to need at least enough confidence to get us moving a bit. So, let’s start by defining what confidence means…
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