Alethea Jimison
Author, Poet & Truth-teller
Manifesting Self-Confidence
You weren’t born doubting yourself.
You weren’t born comparing, apologizing, or questioning your worth.
You came into this world wild and unfiltered—crying when you were hungry, laughing when you were delighted, and believing without question that the universe would meet your needs.
So what happened?
Someone told you “no.”
Someone told you to be quiet.
Someone told you that your honesty was rude, your perspective was wrong, your voice was too much.
That’s when self-doubt started. That’s when the world taught you to shrink.
I call it the age of self-discovery—what most people reduce to the “terrible twos.” A toddler says, “your breath stinks!” and instead of honoring raw truth, the adult shushes them, embarrassed. A child doesn’t want to share a toy, but instead of teaching self-awareness and choice, they’re forced to “be nice.”
The lesson is clear: your honesty is rude, your boundaries are selfish, your individuality is unacceptable.
And so we learn—very early—how to betray ourselves.
No wonder most adults are drowning in self-doubt.
So What Is Confidence?
Here’s the raw truth:
Confidence is not fearlessness.
It’s action in the face of fear.
It’s not a title. Not a personality trait. Not something you either “have” or “don’t.”
Confidence is a verb. A choice. A state of being you practice until it becomes muscle memory.
Confidence says:
Yes, I might screw this up.
Yes, I might fail.
But I trust myself enough to clean it up, to pivot, to rise again.
That’s it. That’s the secret most people never tell you.
Why I’m Qualified to Tell You This
Not because I have a psychology degree.
Not because I’ve mastered every fear I’ve ever had.
But because I’ve been bold—and sometimes delusional—enough to talk myself into doing things I’ve never done, fail publicly, and still produce results that exceeded expectations.
I don’t wait for permission slips or credentials to validate me.
I jump.
I learn mid-air.
And I land—every single time.
Where Are You Hiding?
Confidence doesn’t vanish in one clean cut; it bleeds out slowly in certain areas of life.
For you, maybe it’s your career. You hate your job, but you stew in your own thoughts, imagining every possible disaster if you left.
Maybe it’s relationships. You’re confident at work, but terrified of rejection in love.
Maybe it’s body image—you know you’re attractive, but your reflection feels like a battlefield.
We all have blind spots. And in every one of them, the cure isn’t more thinking.
It’s action.
Stop Self-Sabotaging
Here’s the thing—action without strategy is just chaos.
And chaos without discernment is self-sabotage.
Don’t ask broke friends for financial advice.
Don’t take relationship tips from people who can’t sustain one.
Don’t let anyone project their fear onto your dreams.
Surround yourself with people who expand you, not people who chain you to smallness.
How to Build Confidence Now
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Stop overthinking. Action creates clarity.
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Make a plan—but keep a Plan B in your back pocket.
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Choose your circle wisely. Get cheerleaders, not dream-killers.
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Trust yourself more than you trust anyone else’s opinion.
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Do the damn thing. Messy. Imperfect. Scared. Do it anyway.
The Reckoning
Confidence isn’t out there.
It’s not waiting in someone else’s validation.
It’s already in you—buried under years of programming, silencing, and shame.
You don’t need to find it.
You need to take it back.
So I’ll leave you with this:
Stop waiting for perfect.
Stop waiting for permission.
Stop waiting for the fear to disappear.
Self-confidence is born the moment you decide:
This is my life. This is my voice. And I will not shrink for anyone.
Now tell me—what the hell are you waiting for?

