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Editor's Notes

• #17: Now I know through working with women, because without exception they’ll tell me, that confidence is a barrier to having our biggest impact in the world. It’s one of those narratives that exists about why women don’t (generally) progress, isn’t it – that the reason is that we lack confidence. But what about men? I’ll admit to not having as many conversation with men about how they feel about themselves, however a recent survey of 2000 adults in the UK in February this year show that a lack of confidence isn’t as gender specific as we might think. This study, by GeeHair showed that: Intelligence: 50% of men, and 62% of women do not believe that they are intelligent. Attractiveness: Just 19% of men and 15% of women believe that they are attractive. Competence: 60% of men and 66% of women do not feel confident in their ability to do their job. Perception: 55% of men and 56% of women do not think they are liked by other people. And really soberingly 1 in 3 of every young person feels that they are generally disliked by others. So it would seem the narrative that all men are confident and all women aren’t would appear to be out of touch with what this data is showing. However, with other studies suggesting that people with low confidence are much more likely to experience anxiety, depression and even suicidal thoughts, it certainly makes it difficult to challenge the norms that could be contributing to these feelings of inadequacy in the first place, don’t you think? Hence – while there are very real external factors to us that without question need to be changed for us all to thrive, we’ve got to be best placed within ourselves to challenge these external factors by believing in the first place that we’re worth it, that we deserve it and that we ARE good enough to be unstoppable in the pursuit of what we really want, don’t you think? And that’s what we’re going to be focusing on today. Because whatever job you do, whether it’s students you’re serving or anyone else, how you feel about yourself shows up in your interactions with other people. Imagine how much more bold you’d be with just 10% more self-belief? Or how stronger you’d champion a cause if you believed that you were the 1 person who could make a difference, and you had everything within you to make that difference? You showing up as your best you has good implications for the people around you, which is why frankly, it’s so awesome that you’re taking the time to invest in yourself by attending this session. So, let’s get going shall we?! Great!