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Confident Women: Being Your Biggest Cheerleader
Confidence, confidence, confidence! Women today are told that if they can simply “be confident” then everything will work out for them: men will be attracted to them, they’ll command respect from others, they will achieve success at work, and the list goes on and on. But hearing the words or saying them to ourselves simply doesn’t cut it. So what makes it so challenging for women today to maintain a sense of confidence?
Socialization
Females are encouraged to be passive, agreeable and polite (yes, there are cultural variances on this). Women typically ask rather than take. “Could I ask you a question?” “Would you do me a favor?” Assertiveness not only gives off an air of confidence, but it also tends to be associated with male qualities. Therefore, women are often taught that being assertive is not lady-like. Not to mention that too much assertiveness can be perceived by men as threatening or unattractive.
Media portrayals
According to the European Journal of Social Psychology, women are more likely to be picked apart by the brain and seen as parts rather than a whole, whereas men are processed as a whole. This processing is referred to as “local processing,” which focuses more on the individual parts of an object. Interestingly, both men and women process in this way. Whether this is an evolutionary response or a conditioned response, this kind of objectification is damaging. Studies have linked scrutiny of women’s bodies to lower math scores, self-sexualization, body shame, eating disorders and poor mood.
And we wonder why simply repeating “be confident” in our heads doesn’t get the job done.
While these are only two hindrances on women’s self-confidence, they are quite pervasive in our society and will most likely take years to improve.
However, being a confident female in 2012 is not hopeless. Here are 5 tips to building self-confidence.
1. Take responsibility for yourself- It can be quite easy to place the blame on the media, society or our parents. Building confidence can be especially challenging when women (and men) grow up in households where they are belittled, criticized or even abused, as that negativity becomes internalized. Regardless of the where the critical messages come from, it can be challenging to drown out that negative voice or believe a positive story about ourselves. But you and only you can create change.
2. Fake it until you make it- Perception hugely influences our relationships and human interactions. In therapy we often talk about the relationship between behavior and feelings and more often than not, when we change our behavior we can change our feelings. So simply saying in our heads “be confident” doesn’t have much power; however, if we begin to play the role of what confident looks like, it becomes more believable to ourselves. For example, when a woman is timid and hesitant, people tend to perceive her as insecure and lacking confidence, which increases the likelihood that she will be disrespected or taken advantage of. However when a woman acts firm and self-assured, she is more likely to be believed to be just that. Finding a mentor or someone you look up to can be helpful to emulate these traits.
3. Focus on one area- Building self-confidence involves active participation. Looking at the gym doesn’t make you more fit, you have to actually workout. While it is near impossible for human beings to feel confident in every area of their life at all times, we can take action by focusing on one area. When we dedicate ourselves to be successful at something, the process of failure, recovery, persistence and success creates a sense of self-worth and self-efficacy. The more we develop those beliefs about ourselves, the more they translate to other areas of our life.
4. Model for others- People typically treat you the way you treat yourself. Modeling starts with what we say to ourselves internally. When we label ourselves with low-confidence or tell ourselves “I’m not good enough,” “my body doesn’t look like that” etc, we tend to believe it. These thoughts influence our behavior and people will treat you accordingly.
5. Practice acceptance- Whether it’s through a mindfulness practice or self-affirmations, practice accepting yourself as a whole. Acknowledge the parts of yourself that are more difficult, whether they’re physical, emotional or mental. When we accept ourselves, not only do we feel more whole, but we tend to compare ourselves to other less.
It can be easy to look to others or external things to instill this confidence with immediate gratification, but that will always require someone else’s approval. Today more than ever, women are faced with obstacles to believing they are beautiful, smart and talented. True confidence comes from cultivating a sense of self-worth and self-efficacy. These characteristics require hard work and a close look at ourselves. When we put in the work and become our own biggest cheerleader, the possibilities of what we can achieve are endless.
Quotes on confidence:
“What could you achieve in life if you decided to become totally and blissfully impervious to hostile criticism and rejection?”
“I exist as though I am, that is enough.”- Walt Whitman
“The more you love your decisions, the less you will need others to love them.”
References
Facing Our Fears: Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
“It is not external events themselves that cause us distress, but they way in which we think about them, our interpretation of their significance. It is our attitudes and reactions that give us trouble. We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.” – Epictetus
It is natural to avoid; to want painful things to simply go away, whether they’re physical or emotional. But no matter how hard or how far away you push, the experience wants to be known. When we try to avoid things that are unpleasant, unwanted, or frightening, we are choosing to reject the reality of the present moment. The more we fight against that, the more we suffer.
Not only do we tend to avoid situations, memories and sensations that are painful or traumatic, but we also have a tendency to avoid parts of ourselves that are unpleasant or unlikeable. When we are living in constant avoidance of shadowy things we are not living a true and authentic life and we are using up energy to keep these painful things at bay. The consequences of living mindlessly and trying to control our pain is that we leave little room for vitality, growth & change. When we are able to accept where we are we can then begin moving forward.
Acceptance
Acceptance is a word that can often be confused with approval. However, acceptance in mindfulness-based therapies refers to the notion of opening oneself up to all aspects of the internal and external experience without trying to control or change it. By coming in close contact with the present moment, we become intimate with painful, joyous and neutral experiences. This acceptance is cultivated through a mindfulness practice consisting of various meditations and exercises.
From the perspective of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a mindfulness-based behavioral therapy, the mind is neither a “friend” nor an “enemy.” The mind is simply doing what minds do, producing thoughts. It is a common misconception that mindfulness and meditation is a practice to rid your mind of thoughts.However, if you recall that it is this pushing away or non-acceptance that causes us suffering, pain and leads to maladaptive behavior patterns. Rather than distancing you from thoughts, feelings & sensations, mindfulness practice gives you the tools to make contact with them in the present moment.
It is important to distinguish between unwanted thoughts and feelings and our reaction to those experiences. For example:
- The presence of a thought or feeling: I feel anxious
- What I tell myself about that feeling: I hate feeling anxious, people will notice, I won’t be able to talk to this person, I’m crazy for feeling this way, etc.
- What I do to avoid this feeling: Smoking pot will make me feel better.
It is our struggle with unwanted thoughts and feelings that causes us more distress and maintains unhealthy behaviors and coping mechanisms. But the more we practice tolerating the presence of unpleasant thoughts, sensations and emotions, the less we engage in experiential avoidance, or suppression of unwanted internal experiences.
When we are able to experience the present moment for what it is, free from entanglement with our thoughts and feelings, we are able to live a freer and more authentic life.
References
Harris, R. (2009). ACT made simple. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
I Love You, Now Change
The usual break-up tagline, “it’s not you, it’s me” oddly enough seems to be reversed during relationships, “it’s not me, it’s you.” Something I often hear individual clients and couples say is “if it weren’t for him/ her doing x and y, everything would be perfect” or “if he/she would only do x and y then everything would be fine.” This idea that our happiness in a relationship is contingent upon someone ELSE changing is nearly impossible to work with.
#1- Accept the fact that you cannot change your partner
While we can talk about ways that we can help our partner do more or less of something, it seems to be more fruitful to talk with couples about acceptance.
When we love someone, we must love all of them. We cannot selectively choose the things we want to keep and discard the rest. This does not mean we are overlooking certain traits or characteristics, it means truly accepting the dark, ugly and hidden parts of someone. Of course this is not easy. Most of us struggle to accept part of ourselves, let alone parts of someone else.
#2- Nurture fondness and admiration
John Gottman, PhD., is a leading marriage researcher who has written books, such as The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. Through Gottman’s years of research, he has highlighted the importance of nurturing fondness and admiration. This enables couples to better accept each other’s flaws and weaknesses. Gottman’s research also indicates that these are two of the most vital elements in preserving a long and satisfying relationship. Read the rest of this entry
