Confidence the Greatest Gift of All – Gary’s April Gems
The greatest gift we can give our children is confidence. Before they start school, home is their world to explore with new land around every corner, a new “thingy” to touch, smell and taste. And with every new discovery, they become more confident.
Have you ever watched a child’s journey to their first step? It’s a feat worthy of the first moonwalk. (Neil Armstrong not Michael Jackson). They start by moving their arms and legs simultaneously like a beached turtle. All loco, no motion.
Next step. They gather enough strength to push up. Now they can see the horizon where the carpet ends and the sofa looms over them like a mountain. Now they’re motivated to propel their body forward. They moved! They repeat and repeat until they’re able to touch the base of the mountain one day.
Grabbing firmly they start to climb hand over hand. Then like the first fish that came on the land and started to walk, the child is teetering on their legs. He can almost reach the first plateau of the mountain. He looks around to see if anyone has witnessed this monumental feat.
In so doing, the child falls. Undeterred.
He starts the climb again.
And on and on we walk, peddle, drive and fly. We are motivated to wonder where the next step will take us each time. With every step, a lesson is learned and with each lesson learned, we become more confident. The journey doesn’t follow a straight line. Every time we fall on our asses we pick ourselves up and start again.
My father took self-confidence to another level. He wouldn’t have achieved the success he had otherwise. I, on the other hand, was an introspective kid. Not reclusive, but I did tend to live in my head. While my father faked it until he made it, I was never good at faking anything. My mother could see right through me. Faking a cold to get out of school never worked. I preferred solo activities like running and skiing to team sports like hockey when it came to sports.
I only started living “outside” my head when I started travelling. My first trip abroad was a short solo tour of Europe when I was in my mid-twenties. Just making that decision, buying the ticket and boarding the plane was an adventure for me.
I am still not crazy about the “travelling” part of a journey but love “being” in different places. Being as curious as I am, I enjoy being surrounded by people speaking different languages, eating different food and leading completely different lives. Travelling added the smells, sounds and textures to exotic places I saw only in two dimensions.
I wish travel was part of every school’s curriculum. Every student should be given at least two weeks to travel outside their country. I won’t hold my breath. If you travelled abroad, you know the advantages. Travel is one of the best ways to instil confidence and maturity. It’s ironic that by being a stranger in a strange place we are given a clearer sense of who we are and what we stand for.
Every time we accomplish something, we build our self-esteem. Little successes are the building blocks to a healthy level of self-confidence.
The only way to accomplish things is to do things.
Our self-confidence builds every time we experience something new, push ourselves beyond our comfort zone, and pick ourselves up after a failure. New discoveries bring new perspectives.
Because I have a bottomless well of curiosity, I travelled from one new discovery to another. While looking through old vacation photos for this issue of the Gems, I realised that through all that travelling, the greatest discovery of all was “me”.
“I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be”
by Michael Masser and Linda Creed
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“If we were meant to stay in one place, we would have roots instead of feet.” – Rachel Wolchin ” quote=”“If we were meant to stay in one place, we would have roots instead of feet.” – Rachel Wolchin ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.” – Francis Bacon ” quote=”“Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.” – Francis Bacon ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J. R. R. Tolkien ” quote=”“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J. R. R. Tolkien ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – André Gide ” quote=”“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – André Gide ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you have travelled.” – Mohamed ” quote=”“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you have travelled.” – Mohamed ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine; it is lethal.” – Aldous Huxley ” quote=”“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine; it is lethal.” – Aldous Huxley ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Nothing lasts forever, except the day before you start your vacation.” – Gayland Anderson ” quote=”“Nothing lasts forever, except the day before you start your vacation.” – Gayland Anderson ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times. – Asian Proverb ” quote=”“Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times. – Asian Proverb ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Confidence is not ‘they will like me’. Confidence is ‘I’ll be fine if they don’t.” – Author Unknown ” quote=”“Confidence is not ‘they will like me’. Confidence is ‘I’ll be fine if they don’t.” – Author Unknown ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Doubt can motivate you, so don’t be afraid of it. Confidence and doubt are at two ends of the scale, and you need both. They balance each other out.” – Barbra Streisand ” quote=”“Doubt can motivate you, so don’t be afraid of it. Confidence and doubt are at two ends of the scale, and you need both. They balance each other out.” – Barbra Streisand ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.” – Vince Lombardi ” quote=”“Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.” – Vince Lombardi ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Confidence is everything. Confidence is what makes that simple white tee and jeans look good.” – Ciara ” quote=”“Confidence is everything. Confidence is what makes that simple white tee and jeans look good.” – Ciara ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.” – George Herbert ” quote=”“Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.” – George Herbert ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Confidence isn’t optimism or pessimism, and it’s not a character attribute. It’s the expectation of a positive outcome.” – Rosabeth Moss Kanter” quote=”“Confidence isn’t optimism or pessimism, and it’s not a character attribute. It’s the expectation of a positive outcome.” – Rosabeth Moss Kanter” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.” – Joe Namath ” quote=”“When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.” – Joe Namath ” theme=”style2″]
[click_to_tweet tweet=”“Confidence is preparation. Everything else is beyond your control.” – Richard Kline ” quote=”“Confidence is preparation. Everything else is beyond your control.” – Richard Kline ” theme=”style2″]