"Bloom"
I've been thinking a lot about confidence lately, and how to get it when you don't have it. It seems to come in ebbs and flows, but lately I've been feeling a lack of it. We talked about it in the In the Fish Bowl e-course I'm taking. My fellow students and Marisa had some great suggestions:
Remember a time when you did feel confident and embrace that feeling in the here and now.
and
Decide that you are going to be confident. Just make the decision that you are going to be, and with practice, you will be.
I took the suggestions to heart and at the beginning of a Yoga Today class taught by one of my favorite yoga teachers, I set the intention to have confidence in whatever it is I do:
Confidence in my teaching, confidence in my art-making and confidence in who I am.
Neesha (the yoga today teacher) said that we can magnetize the power of our intentions into our lives by creating strength and space in the body. Strength to draw our intentions to us and cleared space to allow them room in our bodies and lives. I practiced this by doing poses that created strength in the arms and shoulders and made space in the hips through a series of hip-opening standing poses. Then Neesha led the sequence into a handstands at the wall where she challenged us to stay up in handstand for a whole minute. Bring the power of your intention into your determination to do handstand for a minute, she instructed. I'd never done handstand for a whole minute, but I wanted to bring my intention into being through the determination and strength of my body, so I did it.
And so, even though I will have to remind myself again and again to practice confidence, I am determined to live within this intention.
I choose confidence.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most....And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Used by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech
7 comments:
Oh wow! I've taken the fishbowl course a while back and find Marisa very helpful! Hope you are having fun in the class. I totally know what you mean regarding confidence ebbing and flowing. Sometimes I feel like I can do anything and other times it's all down down down! Thanks for sharing some tips on boosting confidence, I think we can all use that sometimes!
Great post and "Bloom" is so beautiful! How fun that you are taking In the Fishbowl right now. I took it last summer, right as I was starting out online and it was a great kick-start with all of the ideas, inspiration and friendships that develop!
I love your artwork! thank you so much for sharing your story and I feel so much the same way! Hope you are enhoying the course with Marisa - your friend from the fishbowl,
Sarah
I'm going to take your advice. While working on my MFA in poetry a few years ago, I lost all confidence in my writing. Before I was ever in that competitive environment, I never worried about whether or not my writing was good. I just wrote. Happily and confidently. Now...well, confident is not how I would describe me as a writer. Thanks for the advice to just claim it!
Hi Eliza,
I loved your post and Bloom. I checked out your shop and your work is *beautiful*!
-Kristen (from the FishBowl class)
what a beautiful piece! and i love the intention you brought to class.
i think that quote is actually from marianne williamson.
Ah... the dreaded fear of disapproval and rejection. As you will know, I suffer this all the time. I love this quote from Mandela, and it makes me so proud inside (being South African and all). I say, treasure those feelings of fear, breathe into them, and let your little light shine!!
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