Whenever I think of the word confidence, I have in my mind Maria Von Trapp singing in the sound of music:

I have confidence in sunshine,


I have confidence in rain,


I have confidence that Spring will come again


Besides which you see


I have confidence in me.

Maria is singing to find the courage to face the Captain with seven children as his new nanny.

But – does she have confidence, or is she whistling in the dark? And what is the difference between confidence and courage?

I’ll come back to that but first, why do we need confidence?

The answer seems obvious, doesn’t it! If I have confidence in my abilities, then I will go for that job. If I have confidence then I will walk into that room of strangers, start chatting and very soon make new friends. If I have confidence, I’ll ask her/him out on a date.

I’m going to turn that around.

If you have confidence, then that new employer may have the benefit of a great member of staff. If you have confidence, the strangers in the room will meet a delightful person and some of them may make a new friend. If you have confidence, then she/he will have an enjoyable date, even start a new relationship or, at the very least, receive themselves a confidence boost because you asked them out.

If we are confident, it is not just we who benefit, but the world.

If we are not confident, then we rob the world of a gift; the gift of ourselves.

There is a parable of a rich man and a poor widow. The rich man, passing the temple, ostentatiously gives an offering of several gold coins; the widow drops in two pennies. The widow’s offering is worth more because it was all that she had. She gave generously.

We may not think that what we have and what we are is worth very much, but if we do not offer it, then the world does not benefit.

Sometimes we do not ourselves value that which is precious to others. There are things that come easily to us, but which are unattainable for them. I am really good at coming up with creative ideas, for instance, but keeping my diary straight is like wrestling an octopus. I value admin skills.

When we doubt ourselves we don’t put ourselves forward. We don’t think we have much to offer and so we offer nothing at all.

Seven years ago, I hesitantly offered my first blog to Moodscope. There were professional writers on the team then, and I was totally outclassed.

Nearly 700 blogs later, however, I know my words have touched, helped, and even inspired many of you.

I now have the confidence to say, “I am a writer.” You have helped me gain that confidence.

Confidence starts with the courage to give what we have and are, even if we think it’s not very much.

It’s more than you think.

Mary

A Moodscope member.