The confidence/competence loop is a very beneficial tool towards achieving pretty much anything in your life. But what is it exactly?
To begin to understand the loop we need to first break it down into bite-size pieces.
confidence:
the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust.
competence:
the ability to do something successfully or efficiently.
When we attempt to do something for the very first time there may be some apprehension. You may feel nervous about doing it because you don’t know what you don’t know. The thought of failure may be in the forefront and you don’t know what to do. “What if the people around me laugh at me?” This is where confidence comes into play.
You need the confidence to just go for it. If you were brave and courageous as a child, you more than likely will still have the confidence built in to do things. This isn’t always the case though, because as we get older we get scrutinized on a grander scale and this could chip away at our self-esteem and self-confidence. So if you feel this could be you then you need to shift gears and gather up the courage. It may not be easy, but if the desire to achieve something is there then you can use that as fuel.
The more you get the courage to do things the more you will have confidence in yourself. It’s ok to fumble along the way but as you go it will start getting easier. You will start seeing yourself progressing in your craft, whatever that may be. Say, for example, drawing. When you start for the first time people may look like stick figures with no rhyme or reason to what is on paper. As time goes by said stick figures can start to look like actual people.
Pat yourself on the back for a job well done! Practice, practice, practice. Michelangelo probably started out painting stick figures and the more he worked at it the better he got. He got pretty damn good! Now that we are starting to attempt new things, we can say we are gaining confidence. Confidence is key, so reach your internal success!
Next, we start to feel that we are competent to draw. “I am qualified!” We feel that all the effort and attempts towards creating things have made us worthy. We have the competence to tackle newer and bigger projects now. Feeling competent gives us more fuel towards having the confidence to attempt something else that is new. This is the confidence/competence loop.
Each step we take towards accomplishing something increases the levels of confidence, thus propelling our belief that we have the competence to do so. Keep this cycle going! Your mind will start to truly believe, based on actions taken, that you are the real deal.
Because you are!
Conclusion
Self-esteem and self-confidence are very important ingredients in the grand recipe of life. Feeling that you have the confidence to achieve things will be a great start. You have to feel confident and then you will feel like you are competent.
