Confidence Despite Weaknesses

Hmm.. last night’s cell, we spoke about confidence and insecurities. J shared using Gideon as an example… (called him the ‘chicken’.. lol… *mind whirled into motion*) =P
Then we shared about what made people look confident to us… some said it was the way they walked, others said it was how loud they spoke. Some even said that the strengths that they portrayed was just a cover-up of their weakness underneath.
After all that discussion and sharing, we spoke about ways we could increase confidence or avoid the lack there-of. So, being the nice person I am, I’ll share what we shared with you… hehehehe…
1. THINK POSITIVE
You gotta know who you are… being sure of yourself is important to a strong foundation of what you think you are capable of
2. TALK TO SOMEONE
Not just anyone… someone who is capable of giving good advice.. Godly advice… someone that you can be accountable to is even better. Sharing is caring… and problems and weaknesses are no exception!! =)
3. THINK OF 10 GOOD THINGS EVERYTIME YOU THINK OF 1 BAD THING
This would train you to look more on the positive side… looking for the best in others… well, that’s what love is all about anyway… right? =P It’s so easy to look at others’ inability we tend to ignore their capabilities and the fact of how blessed we are to have them around. After awhile, we realize that trying to think of 10 good things about people we dislike is kinda tiring that we kinda avoid thinking about the bad altogether and strive to find that speck of good.
4. AVOID COMPARISON
Comparisons just brings condemnation… either upon oneself or another. When we compare, only 1 of 2 things can happen. Either we see others better than us and thus feel incompetent…or we see ourselves better than the other… thus making us feel proud. And as they say, pride comes before a fall. Either way, the outcome is pretty much looking down.We are all different… unique…special. As some say, its pretty much equivalent to comparing a boat and a pencil. To say that one is better than the other is pretty much insane… not to say its probably a characteristic of a “psy” patient!!
Besides that, to compare is to decrease personal standards. Instead of striving towards the best, comparing justifies at just being better than another. It isn’t necessarily the best you can be… and that is definitely below the average that God has for us!!! The example we had was that we may compare our results from an exam and be glad that we got a pass while the rest failed. But a pass is just a pass. It isn’t what we should strive for. It is the distinction mark that we should be looking towards.
5. FOCUS ON POTENTIALS; NOT LIMITATIONS
We were given the grace to accomplish that which we were made to do. Not more, not less. Striving to what God has for us is to achieve that which we are made to be. To look at limitations is to say that God is insane to think so highly of us and that it is impossible!
6. REMEMBER : Confidence is not covering up a weakness but rather, the assurance of that which is really you… not letting anyone shake you off… and not falter from the words of others.

Well, these are just the few points that we thought of in the short time that we had. If anyone has anything to add, feel free to contribute…=P