“You’re looking for the explanation, the loophole, the bright twist in the dark tale that reverses your story’s curse. But it won’t reverse- for me or for you or for anyone who has ever been wronged, which is everyone. Allow you acceptance of the universality of suffering to be a transformative experience. You do that by simply looking at what pains you squarely in the face and then moving on. You don’t have to move fast or far. You can just go an inch. You can mark your progress breath by breath.” -Cheryl Strayed
No matter what we may like to believe, there will come a time in all of our lives where our confidence is shaken. This may be due to a failed test, a fight with your parents or even a broken heart; but no matter the reason, your confidence takes a hit and you feel lost.
As much as I hate to admit it, this has happened to me recently. I’ve had something in my life happen that has shattered every part of me and because of that my confidence has gotten up and walked out the door. It has left me feeling lost and vulnerable, trying to figure out which way is up or what to do next to gain my confidence back and to put myself together. Something that has always helped me through tough times is words and quotes that can fit my mood. So I reached out to others along to some of my favorite movies and books to come up with a list of things we all need to be reminded of when our confidence is shaken. Take a look.
- “It’s only a bad day, not a bad life.”
- “God is greater than the ups and downs.”
- “Everything is alright in the end. If it’s not alright, it’s not the end.”
- “Take a step back and look at where you’ve come and what you have accomplished.”
- “Look at what you have overcome.”
- “Everything happens for a reason.”
- “You were made this way for a purpose.”
- “Think of the positives in life.”
- “Just eat pizza and call it a day.”
- “Take it one day at a time.”
- “Think about what you have done for your family and friends. What you have done to make them happy or proud.”
- “Don’t let anyone ever make you feel like you don’t deserve what you want.”
- “We don’t reach the mountaintop from the mountaintop. We start at the bottom and climb up.”
- “Don’t surrender all your joy for an idea you used to have about yourself that isn’t true anymore.”
- “It’s okay to be smart and ambitious and curious and not terribly cool. Don’t waste all those years trying to get the boys to want you and the girls to like you. Don’t starve yourself skinny. Don’t be a pretty cheerleader. Don’t lose your virginity to the captain of the football team. Don’t lose anything to him. Be the captain. You are the captain. Take the ball and run.”
- “Nobody’s going to do life for you.”
- “These things are your becoming.”
- “This isn’t a spotless life. There is much ahead, my immaculate peach.”
- “This is not the moment to wilt into the underbrush of your insecurities. You’ve earned the right to grow.”
- “You’re here. So be here.”
- “Vulnerability is strength.”
- “Humility is about refusing to get all tangled up with yourself. It’s about surrender, receptivity, awareness, simplicity. Breathing in. Breathing out.”
- “Trusting yourself means living out what you already know to be true.”
- “You mustn’t have to make them want you, they must want you themselves.”
- “The thing worth holding onto would not have let go.”
- “It is a part of the human experience to feel pain. Do not be afraid to open yourself to it.”
- “Loneliness is a sign you are in desperate need of yourself.”
- “Keep moving forward.”
- “When you’re going through hell, keep moving.”
- “Don’t let your mascara run, or your crown fall.”
- “If you were born with the weakness to fall, you were born with the strength to rise.”
- “Stay strong with your pain. Grow flowers from it. Bloom beautifully. Dangerously. Loudly. Bloom softly. However you need, just bloom.”
- “Keep your head held high.”
- “This too shall pass.”
- “Ignore it and go kick life’s a** today.”
- “It takes grace to remain kind n cruel times.”
- “You deserve to be completely found in your surroundings. Not lost within them.”
- “I know it’s hard, believe me. I know it feels like tomorrow will never come and today will be the most difficult day to get through. But I swear you will get through the hurt will pass as it always does if you give it time and let it. So let it go. Slowly, like a broken promise, let it go.”
- “Accept yourself as you were designed.”
- “Always stay smiling. You never know who could be falling in love with your smile.”
- “What comes around goes around.”
- “Be brave.”
- “One day at a time.”
- “'I can and I will. Watch me.' - Keep repeating this to yourself.”
- “I do not need your approval darling, that’s for insecure people.”
- “Show up in every single moment like you’re meant to be here.”
- “No one is you and that is your power.”
- “Coffee in one hand. Confidence in the other.”
- “If the hurt comes, so will the happiness.”
- “How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.”
I’d love to say that one day our confidence will be entirely back to “normal”, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes we need to take time to ourselves in order to slowly build that confidence back up. We need to take time to just breathe.
I hope this list helped you at least a little bit and that soon you will be able to build your confidence back up. So get up, go out and kick life’s butt today. You’ve got this.
If you have anything else you like to say when you’re trying to get your confidence back, feel free to share it in the comments!
