“Oh, I don’t have the confidence for that.”

But you could.

Because we gain confidence by taking ACTION.

We have to actually DO things … and get back up when we sometimes fail … to grow our competence and sustained belief in ourselves. Action is the magic ingredient for growth and success and confidence.

Take one action. Then another. Then another. Watch them compound.

Every new thing seems hard and scary and even impossible … at first.

Listen, I was such a shy kid that even the thought of walking up to a McDonald’s order counter and telling the employee what I WANTED, seemed a Herculean task.

Fortunately, my mother refused to enable my fear or shyness. “You have to learn to take care of yourself. Some day you will be an adult. If you think I’m ordering your food forever, you can forget it.”

She told me to march my butt up to the counter and order a Happy Meal.

Sounds easy, right?

But I sweated BULLETS at having to utter these four words: “A Happy Meal, please.”

But I did it. And lived. Lol. And repeated this action, over and over again. And one day I could laugh at my ever thinking it was hard. Like, McDonald’s is HAPPY to sell me as much cholesterol and fat as I’d like to consume!

Asking for things from others can feel stressful. Letting people know our needs and desires can feel excruciatingly vulnerable. But we can develop the strength to do both (and so much more!), one step at a time. And we begin to recognize that our wants and needs have value. WE HAVE VALUE.

> > Catch this Brené Brown TedTalk on vulnerability. It will change how you think about showing up in life.