Imagine It Forward: Courage, Creativity, and the Power of Change

by Beth Comstock

So I created a set of personal challenges—small, deliberate steps—to push myself forward toward confidence. Each step, each minor victory became a small deposit in my confidence bank. I made sure I came to Jeff’s meetings with strongly articulated arguments, and I didn’t leave a meeting without adding a point of view and perspective. Instead of my normal “On one hand…on the other hand” approach, I would clearly state, “Here’s what I think.” I stopped saying, “This may be stupid, but…” or “I’m not an expert, but…” I became very aware how often my lack of confidence led me to put myself down or qualify my comments. I’d tell myself, You can do this. And I would congratulate myself after every small victory, telling myself, See, you can do this!