Transcript
First of all, I want to define, make a definition for myself: confidence, what it means for me. And basically, for me, it means to feel worthy the way I am, a deep sense of self-acceptance, not just for my strengths, also for my weakness, for my vulnerability, and to stand for my values for my basic values, to set my borders, to protect myself, and also to be sure to be able to contribute to this world in the best way I can. This is basically what I connect to confidence. And to your question why it is necessary for women to develop self-confidence.
I think we live in a man’s world. As we all know, a high percentage of leadership positions are occupied by men, not by women. And it’s a world also here in Europe ruled by masculine values. So if you are a woman with feminine virtues, like creativity, like nourishment, intuition. It’s hard to feel confident because you are different, you are not aligned with this masculine world. That’s why, in my opinion, it’s a harder challenge for women to stand for themselves to be confident. When I was a young woman, I even remember, because I felt I was a high achiever in school also when I studied but I felt I have a different way of thinking in a very intuitive way. I thought, ‘I’m stupid, I’m different, I don’t belong.’ And that’s a challenge.
You need other women to gain confidence, to strengthen yourself. But I think in the world today to make our planet awake, it’s highly important, women gain confidence and live their values and the feminine way of life.
I wouldn’t consider confidence a skill, like knitting or cooking or giving a speech. I consider it an inner quality. From my personal experience and also the experience of my coaches, I think, yes, it can be strengthened. There are tools and habits to strengthen your confidence like a muscle. Like you go to the gym to strengthen your muscles, your physical body, you can strengthen your confidence. So the way I did it. When I was a young woman, I was not confident at all. And the older I became, the more I felt safe and secure with myself. Not completely, never, but I think that’s part of the game of life, always to question yourself, to doubt yourself. The way I did it, I practised daily meditation.
I control my self-talk. I don’t allow myself to talk negatively about myself. I try to treat myself as respectful as I treat others. And when you learn meditation, you observe your self-talk and you learn to control. It helped me to establish healthy habits ‘Ah, I am in control of my life, of my health, of my mental well-being.’ I practice yoga, which helps me a lot to feel well in my body, which is very important for women as well because we all have those doubts and demands, I’m not good enough. I don’t even look good enough.
So that totally changed. And sometimes I also think ageing itself is a very conscious way. And when I talk about ageing, I don’t talk about very old age. Your ageing starts as soon as you come to this world. And so living very consciously helps to strengthen confidence.