Have you ever met someone and thought: Wow, they’re so charismatic and charming … there’s just something about them that’s so likeable!‘
Chances are, you were witnessing their authenticity radiating across the room. It’s hard to miss a person in their natural element because they exude an energy that is unlike any other.
Continue this read if you want to have this same effect on people and to find out why being authentic is your surest road to genuine confidence.
What is Authenticity?
Authenticity is defined as the courage to be yourself. The keyword is courage. It takes courage to show up as who we truly are, not who people expect us to be.
An authentic person is not unflawed or perfect. They just don’t feel they need to be to express their true selves.
Genuine confidence is the byproduct of authenticity
Genuine confidence is a tool that cannot be learned or manufactured. It is the natural byproduct of being your authentic self.
The reason why being authentic is your shortcut to confidence is because when you are completely authentic in your interactions and the way you present yourself, you exude a force of confidence that cannot be genuinely replicated in any other way.
You can spend hours and years learning to be confident, but unless you embrace your identity, you will not master the truest form of confidence that comes from being your authentic self.
Genuine confidence uplifts you
The energy of your authentic self translates into genuine confidence, a force that uplifts you. You don’t need any external resources or skills to show up to the world anymore! All you need is your authentic self. You can meet the world as you are.
Genuine v Displayed Confidence
Unliked displayed confidence, genuine confidence isn’t an exaggerated tool used a shield of worthiness. It’s natural and never feels like you’re putting on a show. It stems from the ability to be wholly yourself.
Genuine confidence grounds and uplifts you, whereas displayed confidence bursts your self-esteem.
When you realize that you can be yourself despite your flaws and imperfections, you become a free being. Flaws and imperfections don’t matter when it comes to authenticity.
That’s because authenticity is not dependent or built on perfection. It’s centred on the ability to be wholly yourself. This knowledge –that it is enough to simply be yourself– is grounding and liberating. You realize that you can show up as who you truly are without putting on a show or shying away from your true self.
You become grounded, natural and so much more loveable to others simply because you don’t care to please or perfect.
Displayed confidence can negatively impact your self-esteem. Sure, it may make you temporarily confident, but the act of putting on a confidence show only damages your self-esteem.
What you are essentially communicating to your mind and body is that you are not as confident as you pretend to be. That in order to achieve confidence, you must put on a different persona. Why should you do it? To be liked, heard and perceived as worthy. Surely, this can’t be a healthy way to approach confidence if it will only debilitate your self-esteem.
The great thing is that genuine confidence is not something you have to put on before you walk into a room full of people or open up about a topic you’re passionate about.
It shows up in your energy as you express your true self. You don’t necessarily have to be the centre of attention or the person hogging the mic to be perceived as confident. Most genuinely confident people are usually the quietest people in the room.
“Truly confident people are quiet and unassuming. They already know what they think; they want to know what you think.” – The Muse
This is your sign to be your authentic self! Embrace it to allow genuine confidence to show up in your life.
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Featured image by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
