As the great Demi Lovato once said, “what’s wrong with being confident?”

The answer: nothing.

Confidence is a key component in everyday life. It is what helps shapes you into who you are, and what solidifies you. Without confidence, you begin to fall apart - you begin to lose sight of yourself, what you stand for, and your goals in life.

If you don’t have confidence, you’ll begin to cling to others who do. This results in an attempt to either become the other person, or tear them down in hopes that their confidence reaches your level. Neither are suitable alternatives to having your own confidence.

I know that finding your own confidence can be hard, but it is a rewarding process. Setbacks are inevitable, but so is progress. Creating confidence means taking the time to be selfish. Not in the sense that you never do anything for anyone, or you never think farther than your own life; but, in the sense that you do what makes you happy and you do what you’re passionate about.

True confidence comes with being yourself and with filling your soul with happiness and love - cheesy, I know, but beneficial.

There’s also a difference between being confident and being cocky or arrogant. Being confident means you believe in yourself and your goals. Being cocky or arrogant means you see only your own success, and believe yourself to be better than everyone around you.

Being confident is a well-balanced trait. It means believing in your weaknesses just as much as you believe in your strengths. It means knowing that although we make mistakes in life, that we have the ability to pick ourselves back up. It is a trait that can be learned or inherited, and it is the core of our being.

So long as we exist, our confidence is important. This is why it is so valuable to be confident enough in yourself, that you never have to tear another individual’s confidence apart. This is why it is so meaningful to live a life of service and of respect. Instead of seeing the negative in everyone you meet, trying seeing the positive parts - then voice them. Let people know the good you notice, because they more we work to raise each other’s confidence, the kinder of a world we will be.

A confident person does not need to pull another person down, because they understand that confidence is not a competition; but rather, they understand they need to help those with broken confidence up. Life is more radiant when it isn’t a competition.