the encouragement lounge: More thinking about confidence

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

More thinking about confidence

Two readers, Donna and Paperback Writer, responded to my post asking about confidence. Both said that others perceive them as more confident than they feel inside. Both noted that they are still working on their confidence. This might surprise some of my students... but in some situations, I still work on my confidence too! I'm not as confident as I would like to be, all of the time.

Here is one of the strategies that I use.... in those moments when I feel very solid, very confident, I pause and really take note of how I am feeling... how I feel emotionally, how I feel in my body (my posture, my body awareness, etc.). I try to really take that all in, almost like a snapshot. And then in a future situation, when I'm not feeling as confident, I try to put myself back in that previous more confident place. I picture myself walking into the room (where I felt confident), I remember what I felt in my body, etc. I find that this can give me a confidence boost in those situations when I'm not feeling as solid.

Anyone else... any sort of imagery or visualization that you use?

Keep at it!

Harriet

Photo by HLS. Vancouver, B.C.

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Working adult students, on my mind...

I hope this blog will be helpful to friends and others involved in a variety of endeavors. However, I created the blog with students in mind and continue to develop it with that specific group as my focus.

I believe that with the increase in evening, weekend, and low-residency programs, students are working more and more in isolation. If we were all full-time students on campus, we would have the informal support that comes with being able to go down the hall and talk with a colleague, etc. But instead, we are working late nights and weekends at home in front of the laptop.

With that in mind, I hope the encouragement lounge provides brief moments of respite and energizing connection. This does not at all replace valuable face-to-face contact. Many aspects of the academic journey can only be addressed via in-depth conversations with colleagues and teachers. And I would always rather sit down and talk with someone than to communicate online. Nonetheless, my aim is to give you one more channel for quick hits of support.