"Confidence: a feeling of self-assurance arising from an appreciation of one's own abilities"
- Dictionary.com
Helen Keller once said, "Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." The first step in accomplishing anything at all is knowing you are capable of something new. This applies whether you're looking for peace of mind, physical strength, or a grassroots revolution.
As we head into the fall, my clients are telling me that what they need more than anything right now, aside from safety, is confidence that they can persevere, flex with whatever comes next, and find sustainable purpose during this strange, socially-isolated time.
Confidence is built on concrete evidence of past achievements. Once you know you can do something (because you've done it before), nothing and no one can take that knowledge away.
The hard part is getting started, doing it for the first time, and the best remedy for that predicament is to do something so small, you know you can manage it at least once—and then do that thing again and again until you:
#1 - Lose all doubt that you are capable of doing it.
#2 - Strengthen the skill you are practicing.
#3 - Increase your belief in your capacity for change and growth.
#4 - Set your sights on the next step forward.
In that spirit, I am offering a one-week group challenge for anyone who wants to try something new and concrete to increase your confidence and well-being. To join, fill out the survey below to select one thing to do for one minute or less, every day for the coming week. You will also be entered to win two signed, advance copies of The Habit Trip, for yourself a friend!
Examples might include a variation of one of the following:
Once you've achieved your goal for the week, you can keep it going or change it up, but most importantly, you will know that you're capable of sustaining a change. If this proves useful for the group, we can take a series of steps in the coming months to build confidence and reinforcements to help us stay sane, strong, and pliable.
If you want to participate, fill out this 4-question SURVEY to identify what you'll be doing and when.
To give everyone time to open and read this email, we will begin on Friday, August 21st. I'll send notes to this select group to kick it off on Friday and follow up a week later to see how it went. There is no failure here, only experimentation. Play with it! Pick a thing you've wanted to do for a while.
What one-minute ritual would make you feel stronger if you did it every day for a week?
I can't wait to see your answers!
Sarah
This weekend, we drove an hour outside of Nashville to visit Old Stone Fort State Archeological Park, a prehistoric Native American stone structure with waterfalls and miles of untouched forest in Manchester, TN. It was built somewhere between 80 and 500 A.D. All the visit required was a Sunday afternoon and a decision to get in the car and drive. I've been thinking a lot about the decisions I make each day and how they collect over time to reinforce or expand my assumptions about what's possible.
Yesterday, I learned it's possible to leave everything behind on a Sunday, to re-energize and re-focus on what matters, and to find space in my imagination for the ancient people who populated this land long before white folks showed up, before buildings and freeways and smart phones. And now I know I can visit whenever I choose to make the time. Where have you thought about exploring?
If you know someone who could benefit from this Monday Message, please share it with a friend. They can SIGN UP HERE to get their own Habits on Purpose free download.
Past posts can be found HERE.