What would our present-day society be like if we were guided not by fear but by a collective and powerful confidence?

THE MOST POWERFUL EMOTION

Confidence: it acts as an eternal panacea that gives thoughts and impulses strength, vitality and vigour. In my opinion, confidence is by far the most powerful emotion. It is how an idea can come about, but it will only remain an idea if there is no confidence in successful implementation. What do successful leaders have in common? Exactly, an ironclad confidence in themselves, their leadership and the value of their product and/or service. Confidence ensures coping with setbacks and makes perseverance an obvious consequence.

CONFIDENCE VERSUS FEAR

Fear is the absolute opposite of confidence. Different reactions and opinions of people concerning the current COVID rules and events currently cause us to live in a culture of fear. This has a detrimental effect on (personal) leadership.

When I look around me, I see that many people are stuck in their self-created mental prison. Negative thoughts result in fear and eventually create anxiety and panic. Actions are unconsciously driven by fear. As a result, we take less action, or in the worst case, no action at all. I probably don’t need to tell you that we live in extraordinary times. Powerful leadership has never been so important. But instead of taking leadership, we hand over this responsibility to other people and their organisations, hoping they will solve the problems. We hope and wish for better times and place our fate in the hands of others, resulting in reduced ownership.

Fear makes people manipulable, impressionable and docile. What would our society look like if we acted more on confidence instead of fear? Would we be more confident if we had more collective confidence? With more confidence, would we be able to create a more powerful future for our next generation?

THE REFLECTION

We often see who we really are in the reflection of the outside world. Once you examine this critically but above all honestly, you are able to provide yourself with honest feedback.

Little or no confidence in the world and our present-day society is often accompanied by the little confidence we have in ourselves. In addition, the way others treat or approach us says a lot about who we are in this world. For example: when we do not feel appreciated by others, we do not appreciate ourselves either. Do you not take yourself seriously? Then others will not take you seriously either. Be honest: how high is your self-confidence? And how does that reflect on your view of the world?

HAND-IN-HAND WITH INTEGRITY

Unfortunately, there is no concrete step-by-step plan or magic potion that will increase our confidence in ourselves. It’s not complicated, though: you simply increase confidence by taking the necessary actions, time after time. Even if these actions are outside your comfort zone, because it is outside this circle that you experience growth.

Confidence goes hand in hand with integrity. Where integrity gains ground, confidence follows as a logical consequence. This simply means that you will have to perform necessary actions, even if they require you to step out of your comfort zone. The more integrity you show, the smaller your fears will become. Results are achieved by doing what is necessary. That means you must be prepared to face your fears. Don’t look away, don’t flee, but tackle them!