You may think that confident people are generally extroverts, highly gregarious and loud. However confidence isn’t about being bold or brash or the centre of attention. True confidence is quieter and comes from an internal belief in your abilities, skills and value.
From working with confident people and supporting clients to build their confidence I’ve identified the following signs of a quietly confident person:
- A willingness to share their opinion and to be wrong. A quietly confident person will speak up for what they believe is right but is also prepared to accept that sometimes they are wrong
- An absence of need to compare themselves. As quietly confident people have accepted their strengths and weaknesses they do not need to compare themselves to others to boost their self-esteem
- An acceptance of mistakes. Taking responsibility for mistakes and admitting them to others is a sign of someone who is comfortable with their self-worth
- An ability to speak up for their wants and needs. As they value themselves and their opinions the quietly confident person is comfortable to ask for their wants or needs
- An openness to taking risks. Without knowing if they are 100% able to achieve a goal, a quietly confident person is willing to take a risk. They are confident in the knowledge that whatever the outcome is they can cope.
- A belief in their self-worth. This allows a quietly confident person to give themselves praise and positive feedback and as a result to need less validation from others.
- An acceptance of their vulnerabilities. Having accepted their weaknesses a quietly confident person is happy to ask for help when appropriate
- An ability to actively listen. This means focusing on the other person with a mind clear of distractions so that they feel understood. Quietly confident people will also listen more than they speak
If these signs seem daunting at first I suggest you take one at a time and ask yourself if you demonstrate that characteristic? If not then take up the challenge to work towards it in small steps, by practicing regularly.
I’d love to hear how you get on, good luck.
Jo
8 Signs You’re Quietly Confident
