Garance Galore

Hi there, I hope you are well.

Today I wanted to discuss the topic of ‘self-confidence’ with you.

Everyone has their opinion and definition of what it is and I would love to share my thoughts and testimony on the matter.

I often thought that I was confident as a teenager because I was not shy to speak up in class and I did not spend a lot of time obsessing about my appearance.

In fact, my friends always thought of me as a careless person and sometimes almost cocky because I had a ‘love or hate me’ attitude.

But the truth is that this is not confidence, at least not for me. By being so loud about not caring if people don’t like me, I was simply using a shield.

True confidence, for me, is being vulnerable and comfortable with not being liked.

It’s showing up as you are, feeling good about it.

It’s expecting to be respected for who you are.

It’s this voice that tells you to keep going no matter what happens. Because it comes from within, regardless of others. 

It is not about other people but about you! 

Becoming ‘confident’ is not something that happens overnight.

Some people believe that you can get there after improving your looks or losing weight. And while looking ‘better’ surely helps, I don’t believe that this is what true confidence is about.

I believe that self-assurance comes with experience, effort, and a better opinion of ourselves. 

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I once heard someone say, ‘You cannot be confident if you have nothing to be proud of’, and it has stuck with me since then. 

Now, you don’t have to win the Nobel Peace Prize to feel great about yourself.

You do not need to archive incredible milestones, but you do need to feel proud of the person you are. 

I realized with time that it comes with being at peace with who I am, what I did, what I do, and where I am going.

I began putting some lights on things that make me proud of myself, from the most practical things, like being polyglot or knowing how to cook… To the most personal ones, like being kind to others or being a good partner.

Once I realized what I was proud of, I decided to work on the things I did not like about myself. 

I had to separate them into 2 categories: the flaws that I could work on, like being lazy, and the ones I could not do anything about.

And the last step was to take action and be more disciplined. This is the hardest part of all because it is the part where you have to stop looking for excuses and actually put in the work. 

Confidence is, in my opinion, something that we build, and while make-up and fashion will definitely help, it can’t be reduced to physical appearance. 

Another thing, and frankly, the main thing I had to work on, was not taking things personally and being kind to others.

When you walk around this world being kind and not expecting much from others, you will find yourself much happier.

If I am at peace with who I am and do no harm, I have no reason to worry about the rest. 

At least, this is how I view things.

I hope these few reflections were interesting to you. There is so much to be said on the topic, so feel free to add to the discussion! 

Garance