"Confidence is the power you have over your own personality. It is what allows you to be unafraid in your own persona, to stand tall and easy on your own feet, to accept criticism freely- and at the same time to rise above it."
Confidence, something that everyone wants, few actually have, and many only have for a while. It's 'the slipperiest surface of all,' which is true for some, but for those who really get it, reality is that they can't be held down no matter how hard the world pulls at them, no matter any circumstance they may be in. True confidence in oneself is something that never leaves, because the owner of it just knows.-Robert Cohen
As an artist, you should be well aware that confidence is what will drive you to success in your profession. Sure you may believe that inspiration gives you confidence, that's fair, but can inspiration carry you through a lasting career? Say you're a performer, certainly you can rock the house when you're really feeling it, but what if the feeling is thrown off, what if your life takes a hard turn and inspiration is away from your sight? The only way through those situations is knowingwho you are as a person and as a performer.
Confident people are the targets of the insecure, but it doesn't matter because they are able to stand tall even when facing the hard truths, because there is no denial process that sends every insecure person to the bottom. You will know and be okay with your flaws and at the same time, be able to deal with them because they will never have control in your life.
When you believe in yourself, you will have an authority that allows you to rise above the issues made known to you. Though you may be attacked by others who refuse to accept your success, you will have a stability, a freedom to be authentic, to be true to who you are, a freedom to attack every performance with everything you should be putting out, because you know you can, and because your confidence can't be touched.
I personally have come out of a low in my confidence; I thought for a long time that what I had was perminent, but then I lost it, and I had no idea what it was or how to get it back. Its like I was sure of myself, positive in my abilities and overall, very happy, and then some personal flaws were brought to my attention. As a perfectionist, I naturally began to focus my energy on correcting what was wrong with me. I ended up losing sight of what was making me so happy before, and all I wanted was to make right the problems that I had with myself.
So I fell from confidence to near depression, because I couldn't succeed in making things right, certainly not fast enough, and out of it all came a frustration that wouldn't go away. I do a very good job of hiding things as anyone who knows me can testify to, so while this was going on, it must have seemed to others like an off day on my part, but it felt deeper than that. I had lost control of my reality and felt powerless to gain it back, I was walked over by the people around me, was shaky in all decisions, and I couldn't even think clearly because of the giant problem in front of me that needed to be fixed.
All the while, the solution was simple, yet unbelieveable. The answer to my problem was not to fix it, but to accept it, to allow it, and to allow my true self to return. Through the hard times, it is confidence and knowledge of who you are that will hold your head above water and ultimately send you soaring above the ground.
Confidence is power,
-The Artist
No comments:
Post a Comment