By: Barbizon Education Staff    

What’s being confident all about? Let’s let a story paint the picture for you!

A change of perspective

A man once took the SAT after his mom begged him to do something with his life. Before taking the SAT, this man had no job nor any goals. He possessed no motivation to do anything. Feeling forced into taking the SAT by his mom, he took the test hesitantly and a month later he received his score. The score he got was 1300 out of 1400 – a “genius” level score.

The man was in pure shock. He had never tried in school and was not known to earn great grades. His mom was in disbelief when he came back to her with his test score. She asked him, “Did you cheat on the test? How did you get this score?” He promised his mother that he didn’t cheat; it was nearly impossible to cheat with multiple choice scantrons. Believing himself to be a near-genius with all the potential in the world, more so than he thought he had prior to his SAT score, this man with no drive or dreams went on to become a big publisher and a very successful man!

Later on in his career, the man received a call from the SAT coordinators. They told him that he did not receive the correct score from his test  all those years ago and that his score was accidentally switched with another student. While getting the results of his SAT proved to have been a pivotal moment in this man’s life, we can see that his success didn’t actually come from getting a 1300 on the test. It was about his mindset; when he believed and started acting like he got a 1300 on the test.

After receiving this score and believing it to be true, the man started working harder than he ever had in his life and studying for all of his pursuits because he knew that he was capable of getting that 1300 SAT score. Knowing the reality of the situation, we can see that he wasn’t able to become a huge publisher and writer because he possessed a higher than average aptitude on a college-bound test. He became successful because he started to put in the effort equal to the belief of the potential that was inside him.

What does it all mean?

Believing in our limitless potential in whatever we pursue is the same mindset we must instill in ourselves. This will allow us to walk, think, and pursue our dreams with confidence. Unfortunately, we will not all be lucky enough to get a 1300 SAT score (switched or not) to boost our confidence, but why can’t we act as if we can get the equivalent of a 1300 high score in whatever we do?

Our brains are a powerful tool to access the confidence we have in ourselves and use it toward our goals. We must believe that we can do things because we have the capability to do them. Never doubt yourself. Never give yourself negative self-talk. Instead, love what you have to bring to the table. Assure yourself that you are capable of what you set your mind to. You must be confident that YOU are special.

The confidence mindset

How do you do this? First and foremost, by believing in yourself. You must believe that you can get that modeling job or acting job and that you have the capability to be a movie star or whatever it is you want to be. You must know that if you put hard work and passion into what you love, you will be successful. This is confidence. Confidence is being able to believe in yourself wholeheartedly, that you can do whatever you set your mind to.

Some of you may be thinking, what if I believe in myself too much and I look boastful? Being boastful is much different than being confident. Confidence is being able to say, “I can get my dream job with hard work and dedication”. On the contrary, a boastful person might say, “I will get my dream job because I’m amazing at everything that I do naturally, and I don’t need to work at it because I’m perfect already.”

The key difference to training our brains to be confident in ourselves is knowing that we must put in the work to get what we want. This means accepting who we are, including our flaws to create positive success. Yes, we are all amazing in our own ways, and it’s great to know that, but it’s even better to know that our potential is limitless if we approach our pursuits and goals with a confident mindset.

This month challenge yourself to use the same mindset that the man in our story had. Believe in your 1300!