I listened to a lot of musicals growing up. A lot. In The Sound of Music, the fair heroine, Maria, attempts to bolster her confidence in moving from the nunnery to a grand house to look after 7 children by singing just that: “I have confidence in me!”

So I got to thinking: is the best trick to gaining confidence simply to sing about it? Tell yourself it’s so and magically, it is! Or is the way to gain confidence only through failing? Can slowing down and regaining your sense of balance also bring you confidence? I read a local Baltimore blog today that touched on these feelings of shakiness as they relate to parenting. I too have been feeling these wobblings in my self-confidence. Building a business is a daunting thing for so many reasons. Lately I’ve been feeling like I should sing my way up a mountain pretty soon just to convince myself that I am capable!

Parents need a confidence boost and so does the person who’s coaching them. Interesting. So how do we get one? I’ve heard singing for an answer. Anyone else? Faking it? Laying off the self-deprecating humor? Being kind to oneself? Perhaps confidence doesn’t come from how many proverbial balls you’ve got in the air and your ability to keep them there. Perhaps confidence comes from small successes in life. I’ve touched on helping children to build self-confidence in little ways, so maybe I should look to my own advice. Achieving small things tends to boost feelings of confidence in me (and in kids). When I can check a self-imposed responsibility off of my list, then I feel pretty good about myself for a little while. Maybe just performing our usual responsibilities is enough to make us feel confident in our ability to do more?

I guess I should really tackle my to-do list then and put one thing on it that will cause me to go outside my comfort zone. But once I complete that uncomfortable task, perhaps I’ll feel more like singing.

“I have confidence that spring will come again, besides which you see, I have confidence in me!”