I have always wanted to be in business and/or ministry for myself. I have always wanted the freedom to come and go as I please, while helping women at the same time. As I reflect back over my working years, there were so many opportunities that came my way, that were designed to prepare me for my dream and vision. Unfortunately, I did not realize it at the time. Instead of having the confidence I needed to at least make an attempt at pursuing these opportunities, I ran and hid from them in my own little private world. The fear of messing up, the fear of not meeting the standard, the fear of being rejected took over.
I now regret that I made those decisions because they were missed opportunities. I did not take the time to believe in myself or trust God's process. What makes matters worse, some of those decisions involved me speaking into and encouraging other women which is my passion. How could I make a mistake like that? How could I pass up such an opportunity which is my lifelong dream?
What about you? What missed opportunities have you experienced? What situation or circumstances did you pass up, overlooked or ignored because you got in your own way? What happened to your confidence?
The Oxford Language Dictionary defines confidence as "a feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities". I must admit that I struggle with appreciating my own abilities or qualities. Do you share the same struggle? Instead of trusting God with the abilities He has given us, we listen to other people's advice and we get feedback from other resources that we should not be giving attention to. In addition, if we don't stand firm on our abilities and knowledge, one mishap, one mistake, one failure can cause us to go ten steps backwards and we never accomplish or reach our goals. I do want to share this - sometimes God can use other people to speak to you but, your relationship with God should be intimate enough where you know it is Him speaking to you. This is one of the reasons why having a strong prayer life is so important.
Confidence involves how we look at ourselves and if we don't have a strong self-image of us, it can effect our confidence. How we were raised as children, school experiences, physical appearance (weight gain specifically), relationships and other factors can impact our confidence level- positively or negatively. I thank God that He doesn't focus on our mistakes but He does help us to move past them!
We should not go through life living with regrets and giving into fear. God does not want you to be afraid and He has a plan for your life. Regardless of what you have experienced in the past and regardless of hurts and failures you have endured, we should still have confidence in knowing that all the failures are just making us stronger for success. Stay focused and stay confident. You are enough!
Rise Above and Move Forward,
Y.
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