How many people do you know who could be described as completely confident? Probably not many. We all have our hang-ups.
Even if we have great self-esteem, there are times when our confidence level drops. Someone says something to us that pricks an old memory, and the old memory hits us with thoughts like, “See? You’re not so good. In fact, you’re no good at all.”
Sadly, some constantly feel that way—they are no good. Why?
People aren’t born confident. Somewhere along the way–very early on—another person is responsible for planting the seeds of self-worth. This beneficial vision of himself through the eyes of another stays with a child. Of course, the opposite can be true as well.
How can a person re-instill self confidence that has been taken from them?
First of all, the Realization that God loved us enough to make us in His image and likeness , and that we are necessarily good because of it. And then, by reaching out to others, by helping other people, we see and understand their own valuable uniqueness. We receive appreciation from them, and may even see ourselves differently, too. And that is a great builder of self confidence.
When we treat others as we’d like to be treated, when we love them for who they are–our brothers and sisters in Christ–we are actually bolstering our own self-worth as well as theirs.
Translating a World on the Edge 
Amazing Kaye. Long talk with the wife last night on how my confidence has plummeted in the last decade, through years of unemployment and underemployment. And not surprisingly, I don’t feel very useful to others. It’s tough because in my younger days I had it!
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I understand. There have been times when I’ve been entirely self-confident, and other times when I only wanted to hide. That just shows up the fact nothing that happens to us is permanent–life is always changing, and just as it changes for (what we see as) the worst, it can just as quickly change for the better. But I don’t think we’re ‘less, or more’ of a person either way. We have dignity no matter what comes our way, and we have God’s grace to not only see us through, but often create great good from the very thing we thought would do us in.
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