Five-a-Day: Day 11: 6th of February 2023

Confidence may be the most important thing to have in this world. Probably even more so than nice and fuzzy things like kindness and a sense of humour. Confidence is what allows us to put ourselves in a position to succeed, and to therefore have pride in ourselves. I know they say pride cometh before the fall, but surely a degree of pride is essential for anyone to have a degree of self-esteem, and therefore a sense of self-worth and wellbeing. I think the best thing a child can have is confidence. It allows them to access opportunities that they might not otherwise, and most crucially to socialise and develop their social skills, develop their willingness to put themselves out there and refine their ability to be funny and develop a personality. A lack of confidence can be crippling, particularly for children, and it’s a cycle that can be difficult to break out of. But fortunately it’s not an inevitable one, I don’t think. I was quite a shy and anxious kid, but I’ve gradually become more confident over time and asserted myself more in the world. I still have a lot of self-doubt and a degree of lingering and undulating anxiety about various things, but obviously nothing clinical, and no more than I imagine most people have. And in the moments where you feel good and you notice a real change from how you used to be, it can be extremely gratifying and liberating. You realise the agency you have to change your behaviour and the way you think, and to ultimately improve your prospects, both professionally and socially. And one of the biggest perspective shifts that I’ve made is to not worry too much about mistakes you might make and how they’ll affect you in the future, because you’ll always have a chance to redeem yourself. First impressions actually don’t matter that much. Ideally they’d be good, but people are forgiving, and even if you mess up your first, second and umpteenth impression, people only remember the most recent one, so there’s always a chance to correct their misconceptions. And finally, just slow down and don’t try to plan too far in advance. Take things as they come with a degree of pragmatism, take a breath, pause, and then go. That’s all for now.