4 Benefits of Being Confident
When I paint, I wear a smock.
It protects me from the paint spills and spatters, but it also wraps me in confidence. Thirty years ago, Mary gave me my first smock. She was twenty years my senior, and every day in art school as I watched her artistic hands cradle a paintbrush her tenacity inspired me. Even today, each time I put on my smock, I think, “If Mary could do I, I can do it.
The smock gives me backbone, a fearlessness.
When I drape it on, I give myself permission to be messy! To be free. To be experimental. To re-do. To start over. To not be judgmental.
You ask: All this confidence comes from a smock????
I’ll fill you in on a secret.
Todd Herman.
I’ve been following him and his concept for a while.
He’s an inspirational guru who focuses on a concept called Enclothed Cognition: the systematic influence that clothes have on the wearer's psychological processes.
Think Superman. He enters a phone booth as Clark Kent and emerges as a hero in a cape, ready to conquer evil. All this power from a costume.
Todd explains that his Superman power comes from the simple act of slipping on eyeglasses. Wearing the black square lenses gives Todd the feeling of an intellectual hierarchy. He offers statistics on how clothing and symbols can increase your confidence, give you power, and even resilience to negative feedback.
Recently, Todd published his book, The Alter Ego, which quickly to hit the Wall Street Journal Best Selling list.
Whereas Todd speaks of symbols, such as eyeglasses to empower, and I speak about my smock,
Have you considered the power of color for confidence?
From your experiences and memories certain colors will make your head turn, your heart rev up a notch.
As we age, cultural and situational experiences continue to affect our favorite colors. For example, some of you choose the red power tie as a confidence builder. As you receive positive experiences wearing this tie or color, then the more we center ourselves around them. Which in turn brings us more confidence.
Picture yourself in this setting:
You’re in an old dented aluminum canoe, sturdy enough, but a bit difficult to steer. You rock and bob along the bubbling river. Alongside you, the woods are dotted with birch that shake their leaves, while the sturdy evergreens smell fresh of pine sap.
Soon the sky turns gray, and begins to spit rain at you. A foggy mist forms that gets in your eyes and clings to you like a second skin. There isn't anything to see in all this gray except the endless splatter of raindrops on the river. Nothing is dry. Your bare feet are frozen and numb from the hours against the metal canoe floor. And it'll be hours before you can get off this river.
By the time you reach your safe haven, and bail from the canoe, every muscle cries in agony. The cold soggy ground squishes beneath your toes, sending needle-like pinpricks through your feet. You never want to see “gray” again.
Could it get more miserable?
Then, from behind, your boyfriend is down on one knee with a grin so wide his cheeks twitch.
“Will you marry me?” His hand cradles a small box.
YES!
Suddenly, this dismal gray day is filled with light!
If you were that newly married couple what color would you paint the walls of your first home?
Gray of course.
Colors make us feel comfortable and confident.
I wrote a series called Color Psychology, click to enjoy.
Colors affect our mood and our mindset, perhaps from positive memories, or like the red power tie, from positive experiences. For me, I use my cape for a confidence builder when I paint, Todd Herman slips on black nerdy glasses to feel more intellectual and face an audience.
So be creative, get decked out in $300 Italian leather shoes and strut your stuff if that's what it takes for you to feel confident.
Gaining confidence has its benefits:
4 proven reasons:
Confidence gives you more energy.
Remember those $300 shoes? If that's your 'cape,' Then as you march around, notice you'll actually be tap dancing to a livelier beat. This motivation will have you taking action, setting goals, and soaring!
Confidence gives you an increased sense of self worth:
I mentioned my 'cape' made me fearless. This self-confidence not only gives me permission to re-do, make a mistake, but it allows me to act faster. No hemming and hawing about self-doubt, like: "What's wrong with me? Aren't I good enough to succeed? I simply press on, and try again. You will, too.
Confidence brings more happiness and joy to your life:
That self-doubt I just mentioned? Confidence keeps you from comparing yourself to others. It lets you be happy with who you are, letting you enjoy what life has to offer.
Confidence lessens fear and anxiety:
Worry, jitters, panic. Who needs it? When your confidence is high, you can accept, adapt, learn, gain, and benefit from any situation in life.
If you want a more stress-free life and greater piece of mind ...