the WHOOSH factor.

Confidence comes from within... well it should, anyway. But every now and then an external confidence boost is an amazing thing. Those little moments can do wonders for faltering self esteem. I can think of certain compliments that have kept me on an emotional high for days. I think the key is balance. If the opinions of others were the only thing that made me happy, then I wouldn't really be meeting my goal of improving my self-confidence.

Every once in awhile I have one of those days when I accomplish something (which makes me feel good) and then it gets recognized by someone else (which makes me feel better) and then it's like WHOOSH! Rush of pride, rush of self esteem, rush of endorphins... call it what you want, but it's a great feeling. And it doesn't upset the balance. Most of my warm fuzzies still came from within, and the boost I got from other people was just a nice bonus.

Today I had to co-present at a faculty meeting at one of my schools. (Topic: "Writing in Math." Try to contain your excitement.) My co-worker designed the presentation, even though I offered numerous times to help out. She's rather territorial about these things. But she did ask me to choose a book to read to the teachers that could be used to teach/introduce a math concept to a class. Since my only other job was to advance the slides on her powerpoint presentation (snore), I decided to take my small role seriously. Earlier this week, I found a book, brainstormed ideas and created a handout... and this morning at the presentation, I read with all the expression and enthusiasm of a first grade teacher (old habits die hard), engaged my audience, lead a lively discussion, and then took my seat, ready to advance to the next slide for my co-worker.

At the end of the presentation, participants were asked to fill out an evaluation... and when I read them, I was surprised and pleased to see that almost all of the teachers mentioned my activity as the most important thing they got out of the presentation. My little 10 minute piece made more of an impact than the 40 powerpoint slides and 80 minutes of talking that my co-worker did. I'm not saying her portion was boring or useless... but even though she had the bulk of the presentation, my piece was meaningful and memorable enough to be mentioned in the evaluation.

WHOOSH!

Yeah... that was some good stuff.

We all enjoy when we get a compliment or recognition. So the way I see it, if it feels good to receive a compliment, it's got to feel just as good to give one. As I work on my own self-confidence this year, I'm going to make it a point to give others a sincere boost whenever the opportunity presents itself. We love to complain when things aren't going the way we want... bad service at a restaurant, cashier who forgot to ring up the sale price... but we often miss out on chances to tell someone when they're doing something well.

So... Pay a compliment. Recognize an effort. Praise thoughtfulness. Thank someone. Acknowledge hard work.

The WHOOSH factor. Make it happen.