Confidence

"The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, But the righteous are bold as a lion." - Proverbs 28:1 (NASB)

Confidence is the faith and/or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way. In addition, it can also involved confidence in one's abilities via competence (See: Self-efficacy). The word confidence comes from the Latin word fidere which means "to trust".

Overconfidence, which is excessive confidence often to an overwhelming degree, is called hubris.

Visualization and confidence building

See also: Visualization (psychology) and Self-efficacy

In psychology, visualization is the process of creating mental images or rehearsing movements in your mind. It's also known as mental imagery.

Visualization is often used in sport psychology where the athlete mentally rehearses a perfect performance. Research indicates that people who engage in positive visualization tend to exhibit higher levels of self-confidence and they are more apt to pursue their goals with determination. Visualization is also used for stress management and anxiety reduction.

Confidence vs. conceit

See also: Confidence vs. conceit and Hubris

There is a distinction between confidence and conceit. To be confident is very different from being conceited. A confident person knows what he can do. He doesn't commit himself to the impractical, but to what is achievable.

Articles on confidence vs. conceit

• 4 Major Differences Between Being Self-Confident And Being Conceited
• The Fine Line Between Confidence and Conceit
• Conceit: The Fine Line Between Confidence and Hubris
• The Difference Between High Self-Esteem and Conceit
• Conceit vs. Confidence

Bible warning to put your trust in God and not put your confidence in the flesh

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." - King Solomon, Proverbs 3: 5-6, NRSV

Wise King Solomon wrote: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3: 5-6, NRSV

The biblical prophet Jeremiah wrote: "Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They shall be like a shrub in the desert and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse — who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings." - Jeremiah: 17: 5-10, NRSV

Bible verses related to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Christians becoming a new creation, sober judgment and the danger of pride:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." - 2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV

Jesus Christ told his disciples, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come." - John 16:13 NRSV

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." - 1 Timothy 1:7, NRSV

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, ESV

"Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator." - Colossians 3:9-10, ESV

"Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the encourager, in encouragement; the giver, in sincerity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness." - Romans 12: 4-8, NRSV

Book

The Confident Mind: A Battle-Tested Guide to Unshakable Performance by Dr. Nate Zinsser. Custom House (January 25, 2022)

Quote

"When it comes to confidence, however, logic isn’t always helpful. Logic dictates that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, that the team or opponent that beat you last time will do it again, that the job task that has always been troublesome will continue to be so. If strict logic was indeed the answer to everything and had always been followed, the Wright brothers would have never gotten off the ground, and Roger Bannister would never have broken four minutes in the mile run. Being “logical” closes us off from creativity, joy, and the discovery of anything new, precisely those things that give our lives the greatest meaning." - Dr. Nate Zinsser, 'The Confident Mind: A Battle-Tested Guide to Unshakable Performance, Custom House (January 25, 2022)

See also

A Venn diagram showing the relationship between self-concept, self-efficacy, and self-esteem.

• Courage
• Self-efficacy
• Identity (psychology)
• Self-worth
• Self-esteem
• Self-awareness
• Self-control
• Self-regulation
• Mental toughness
• Psychological resilience
• Achievement orientation
• Agency (psychology)
• Quotes related to ignoring unreasonable critics

Opposite:

• Fear of failure

External links

• How To Become More Confident in 8 Powerful Ways
• How to Be More Confident: 9 Tips That Work
• How to Build Confidence at Work, Harvard Business Review
• 10 Ways To Be More Confident At Work, Forbes
• Boost Your Confidence With These 6 Expert Tips, Forbes
• Become confident at work thanks to 9 proven tips and strategies
• How to Be More Confident, Entrepeneur magazine
• 10 Powerful Ways to Be More Confident
• How to build self-confidence

Videos:

• Building confidence - video playlist, Video playlist
• Confidence - James Kwick video playlist, Video playlist