I promise, the rope climbing pictures will make sense in a minute.  But first, just stick with me here…

For whatever reason, I’ve recently felt my confidence tried fairly frequently.  Random questions meander into consciousness for trite thing as such as, “Did I pick the right wedding dress?”  (Yes, that’s important.  But life changing?  It shouldn’t be…) But sometimes my thoughts range to larger life questions like, “Do I feel like my life is on the right path?” or “Is my career leading in the direction of my dreams?”  In the past, I’ve prided myself on the confidence I typically exude and honestly feel, but that’s not always the case.  I don’t know if it’s my current age or if it’s actually that I’m consciously putting more thought into the decisions that I’m making, but I’ve found this lack of confidence to be more debilitating than anything else.

 

In these times, I consider the big risks I’ve taken in my life.  I’ve taken hastily planned trips around the globe, my mother and I went skydiving together to celebrate my high school graduation, and Ray and I dropped everything to move to Colorado.  I have not regretted any of these decisions.  In fact, I came out feeling stronger and more confident/accomplished on the other end.  Even smaller decisions, such as joining Junior League when I didn’t know anyone previously involved, have consistently built my confidence across the years.

 

 

When I’m in phases like where I find myself today, the I often find myself thinking back to a rope climbing excursion I experienced with my mother back in early 2013.  I lived in Cincinnati at the time, while my mother lived outside of Chicago.  We decided to plan a trip to Arizona to enjoy a mother/daughter get-away at Canyon Ranch (a health-related spa in Tucson.)  While I enjoyed our time together in the workout and spiritual growth classes (the spa treatments weren’t bad either!), what impacted me the most was the rope climbing excursion we decided on last minute.

 

That’s my mother, way up top!

What I learned through this experience is that I can accomplish anything with confidence, careful planning, and through the support of those closest to me.  We can’t plan for everything, but there’s also absolutely something to be said for trusting your gut.  There is a reason that you’re making the decisions that you do.  We don’t always immediately know the reason, but with the right support system, at least an attempt to understand the potential outcomes, and a bit of confidence, we’ll be alright.  And if all else fails, you may sway a bit, but be confident that YOU are worth achieving greatness.  Then take that big step in the right direction!

 

And there’s my mom again, getting to the podium before I do.  B.A.M.F,

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

How do you build confidence when you’re not feeling incredibly strong?  Have you ever had an experience that you flash back to when you need to build some backbone?

Create a great life!