The next time you think, “I don’t feel confident enough to try that…”

That might be a sign that you do, actually, need to try that.

Despite everything we’ve been told, confidence is not something that comes when you achieve certain goals, look a certain way, or gain popularity and acclaim. It’s something that you build within you, and it happens one action at a time.

When you’re trying something new, it’s normal not to feel confident. Of course you feel this way: you’ve never done it before! Why would you expect yourself to feel like you have it mastered?

The first time you try, it might feel messy and uncomfortable. The second time you try it, though, you’ll start to get the hang out of it; the third time, you feel your confidence building; and a few times later, you will have forgotten what it was like to not know how to do it.

If you wait to feel confident, you might never act. Instead, take action, knowing that the reward for your courage is the confidence that you yearn for.