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After answering the question yesterday about when I considered myself a runner, I felt a little embarrassed by admitting to all of you how seemingly full of myself I was as a kid. There’s a fine line between self-confidence and arrogance after all. (Thank you Fancy Nancy for admitting your gymnastic aspirations–good to know I’m not alone!)
But isn’t having happy, well-adjusted confident children what we’re all striving for as parents?
I thought about childhood confidence and realized that, in many cases (mine included), somewhere along the line, the confidence and optimism we had as kids takes a nosedive later in life.
Sometimes certain life forces/events shake our confidence in ourselves and we stop dreaming big and begin performing to a lower standard. Maybe it stems from family issues, peers, or a job situation.
I wasted years in a comically (I say that now) unfulfilling, (think Dilbert) dead-end job where we were berated by our supervisor on a regular basis. Why did it take me so long to leave? Because somewhere along the line, I sipped the Kool-Aid and started buying into the falsehood that this was the best job I was worthy/capable of.
After getting out of the toxic work situation and doing some soul-searching, I started working out more. The gym became my physical and mental release. Because the results were quantifiable, (number of workouts, miles, pace, pounds lost, etc.) it also was a huge factor in restoring my battered self-confidence. The confidence gained from setting and achieving running/fitness goals carried over to life in general.
I’m sure the gym and track aren’t the only places one can build self-confidence, but since this is primarily a running/fitness blog, I suspect many of you can relate. I think it boils down to finding a passion. If you’re passionate about something, you’ll do it well. Achieving the goals we set for ourselves builds confidence.
