Life can be confusing sometimes. How often do you consider your ethics and values until you’re asked about them? Personally, I believe these actions and feelings are automatic and uncontrolled to a point. In the beginning of your life you live exactly as you are taught by your parents and superiors. You share the same values and beliefs as well. You don’t begin making your own decisions until you begin adolescence. After this point you begin to grow up, mature, and begin being faced with decisions. This is something you’ve never been faced with before, besides perhaps choosing your favorite video game.
Following puberty when becoming an adult, finding a college, and beginning to look for a career are some of the most stressful things a person can go through in life. At times like these people handle things differently, and question their values. They question everything that they have learned. When struggling to determine how to deal with the struggles that come with daily life, I believe in confidence.
Do not get it confused with cockiness because the two traits are not interchangeable. It’s not just about dealing with the struggles of your life either. It can also be used in instances where you are competing for something great. I have found throughout my life that success follows confidence in everything that you do. Also, the lack of confidence is more commonly followed by failure. Whether it’s taking a test, talking to a girl you like, or even a sports competition you must be confident. When you lack confidence, your nervousness begins to show, and that is where mistakes happen.
I have been an athlete my whole life and used confidence in three sports my whole life. They are football, baseball, and wrestling. My freshman year of high school I began wrestling for the varsity team and I was nothing except nervous. I would read through the standings during school to see what my opponent’s record of the night was and let everything get to my head. Every time we went out on the mat against a good opponent we were scared, and our performance showed it. We lost close matches by two or three points because of the lack of confidence. We were afraid to go for a big move or to really be on the offensive. My senior year came with a new coaching staff that started the first day of practice with the title of confidence. This new coach drilled the idea into our heads and made us truly believe in it. After years of accepting losing seasons, someone had finally believed in us and helped us believe. We approached matches very differently from that point on. We pushed the action.
Along with breaking the school record for wins, we sent four wrestlers to the state tournament, and our coach won the Coach of the Year award. It’s not just about wrestling, or sports, or even events in general. Confidence is something you should carry with you everywhere. When you have an interview for a job you really want, be confident! I believe that if you believe in yourself, it’s much easier for others to believe in you.