Welcome,
And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.
Today I want to talk a little bit about confidence and also about doubts.
And this meditation is based on a recent live session.
What is confidence?
Well,
It's a belief in oneself and our abilities,
And it involves having a realistic sense of your capabilities and feeling secure in that knowledge.
I know that often though,
We have doubts.
We're uncertain about what's going on or what we're doing.
Having confidence allows you to face the challenges in life with conviction that you can succeed There are some different aspects to confidence,
Like self-assurance,
Where you feel certain about your abilities,
Trust,
Believing in yourself and others,
Certainty,
Being sure about the truth of something.
And confidence can be developed and improved over time through practice and experience.
It's something that can be nurtured.
By the same token,
Doubts are a normal part of life too.
To deal with them effectively,
It's important to acknowledge them,
Evaluate the evidence surrounding your doubts,
Seek outside perspectives,
Reflect on past experience,
And break down the problem into smaller steps.
And ultimately,
You have to trust your instincts.
Our doubts are often instilled in us by others.
Remarks by parents,
Or friends,
Or siblings,
Or neighbors can have a negative impact on our confidence.
If your parent might say,
Oh,
You aren't smart enough to be an engineer,
Or you aren't graceful enough to be a ballerina,
Those comments can instill doubt in your mind.
And even when it comes to your meditation practice,
You might have doubts about if you're doing something correctly,
If you're breathing right.
Only with practice do you gain confidence.
I know from my own experience that we are often hardest on ourselves.
And by being that way,
We defeat ourselves before we even start.
An example from my own life,
I played guitar for countless hours in my parents' basement.
But the first time I had to play in public,
I was nervous.
I doubted myself.
It turned out to be fine,
And each time after that it was easier because I gained confidence.
Close your eyes now,
And let's begin to get in touch with our breath.
Just breathing in,
And breathing out,
One breath at a time.
As we start to relax,
Let's focus on our breath.
Relax your face,
Unfurl your brow,
And unclench your jaw.
Relax your neck.
Relax your shoulders.
Relax your arms and your hands.
Look for any tension in your chest and belly.
Relax your legs and your feet.
And as you begin to relax,
Focus even more on your breath.
Our breath is our anchor.
It's there for us in all moments.
It's there for us when we're happy.
It's there for us when we're sad.
It's there for us when we're confident,
And it's there for us when we have doubts.
Just continue to breathe.
Breathing in and breathing out,
One breath at a time,
And then the next,
And then the next.
And that puts you in the present moment where you can just stop and think.
Our breath is like a river as it flows in and flows out.
You can feel it in your body.
Don't just breathe,
Feel it.
Notice your breath,
Maybe a cool sensation in your nostrils as your breath flows in,
Or the movement of your chest and belly as the breath flows in and flows out.
Just continue to breathe and listen to my voice,
And don't worry about anything.
If you have thoughts,
Just observe them without judgment and let them float on by.
They're like clouds in the sky or waves on a lake.
And if you hear sounds in the room,
Just ignore those too.
They can't disturb our river of calm.
One thing we have to do to build confidence is stop comparing ourselves to others.
It's very common in the age of social media.
We tend to see the best side of people because that's what they show us.
We have to focus on our own progress and our own achievements rather than comparing ourselves to others.
That can help reduce feelings of envy and inadequacy.
Another thing you have to do is celebrate your wins.
Acknowledge and celebrate your successes no matter how small.
This helps reinforce a positive self-image.
And you need to view failures as opportunities to learn and grow rather than as setbacks.
Having a mindset like that can help you to build resilience and confidence.
Now here I'm going to pause for a moment so you can just breathe and think,
And I'll be back in a minute.
Now just continue to relax and follow your breath and listen to my voice.
Words and thoughts have power.
Let me say that again.
Words have power and thoughts have power.
And we have to replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations.
Remind yourself of your strength and capabilities.
And we need to set realistic goals that can help build your confidence.
We have to establish boundaries and saying no to things that don't serve you can help you feel more in control and more confident.
It often helps to step out of your comfort zone.
Challenge yourself to try new things and take risks.
Each small step outside your comfort zone can boost your confidence.
And I found that stepping out of your comfort zone can be a transformative experience.
It just means intentionally doing something unfamiliar or challenging.
And doing that can lead to personal growth.
And increased confidence and expanded horizons.
We have to overcome our fear because fear holds us back from trying new things.
We have to step outside of our comfort zone and try things that we haven't done before.
And as we overcome our fears,
We can build resilience and courage.
Now here I'm going to pause again for a minute so you can just breathe and think about what I'm saying and I'll come back.
You need to remember that growth happens when we embrace our discomfort and explore the unknown.
Whether it's trying a new hobby or speaking in public or traveling solo,
Stepping out of our comfort zone enriches our lives.
Now you all know how I like quotes so I'm going to give you a couple that I thought were good.
The writer Cicero said,
If you have no confidence in self,
You are twice defeated in the race of life.
With confidence you have won even before you have started.
And author N.
R.
Walker said,
Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go,
Just remember how far you've come.
Remember everything you have faced,
All the battles you have won,
And all the fears you have overcome.
Those are wise words.
Now as we follow our breath,
Just breathing in and breathing out one breath at a time.
If you feel willing,
I'd like you to repeat the following positive affirmations,
Either out loud or to yourself.
I'm going to say each one twice.
I am confident.
I am confident.
I am optimistic.
I am optimistic.
And last one.
I can do new things and succeed.
I can do new things and succeed.
Now as we come to a close,
Open your eyes and come back into the room.
Wiggle your fingers and toes and stretch and feel how good it is to be alive.
How good it is to be here in this moment.
And I want to thank each and every one of you for investing some of your precious time to be here with me.
We gain confidence by doing things,
By making mistakes and trying again.
And you can do it.
You just have to try.
I hope this has been a beneficial and calming session.
Till next time.
