Confidence

In his article “Why Confidence Is So Important (and How to Improve Yours)”, Eric Ravenscraft says the two main benefits of confidence are “confidence can be more important romantically than physical attractiveness” and “confidence early in life can mean upwards mobility at work”.  It is obvious that both of these categories are two things that will influence the rest of your life so having confidence, especially in these areas, is extremely advantageous.  The article further goes on to show many different aspects of your life where an improvement in confidence is pliable.  Some options include working out, dressing better, learning how to power poses, practicing how to explain things well, competing in things you know you can succeed in, fixing things you don’t like about yourself and more.  Reading this article made the concept of confidence seem very easy but in my opinion, it is something that takes time and practice; the more you are able to develop your confidence, the more it will benefit you.  In Eric’s definition of confidence, he also includes that moderation is necessary. “Confidence is knowing what you're good at, the value you provide, and acting in a way that conveys that to others. Contrast this with arrogance which typically involves believing you are better in a particular area than you are, or low self-esteem which involves believing you're less valuable than you think. The closer your self-assessment is to that reality in the middle, and the more you behave accordingly, the closer you are to displaying healthy confidence”.

In today's society, confidence is especially important because the world we live in has become so fixated on the concept of social shaming.  Although it is slightly improving, the media has only portrayed one kind of "perfect". Most often, appearance has the largest effect on one's confidence. We have grown up knowing that skinny, tall, clear skin, long hair, makeup, large breasts, etc. are standards we must meet to fit in but this is not true!  Why so many young girls spend so much time trying to live up to these unrealistic attributions to their appearance can solely be blamed on models, actors, the music industry, magazines, and other means of physical displays. The industry has however started to realize this problem and has initiated a change by incorporating models with freckles, red hair, "bigger" bodies, down syndrome, and different races. Overtime I believe this will help to increase the confidence level of many, especially young girls who so heavily base their life off of what other people think. At such a young age, it doesn't seem like there is any other option so they get dragged into the world of what society thinks and therefore have a low confidence level.  Because of society’s standards, the rate at which people must see counselors and psychologists is at an all-time high and it is usually a result of a lack of confidence.  The judgement people receive for not reaching social standards is in direct relation to their confidence level which is even further portrayed in the outside world, thus effecting relationships and future jobs as Eric said.  Confidence impacts a chain of events which is why it is so important.  Any break in the chain impacts the entire rest of the chain, just as in life, any negative impact on one aspect of your life is able to destroy your confidence as a whole.