There are three important C’s a woman should have on her life’s journey: clarity, confidence and consistency. Clarity, in this regard, means focused and free from disturbance; confidence means a feeling of self-assurance stemming from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities; and consistency means always behaving the same way in thought or action. These three C’s are not automatically bestowed upon us at birth, instead they are traits we acquire along our life’s journey. Some may be acquired early in life, some late in life and some not at all. However, one can always acquire more of the three C’s. It is never too late. Here are some practical ways to have more clarity, confidence and consistency in your life.
Clarity is the most important thing. I can compare clarity to pruning in gardening. You know, you need to be clear. If you are not clear, nothing is going to happen. You have to be clear. Then you have to be confident about your vision. And after that, you just have to put a lot of work in.
– Diane Von Furstenberg
To gain more clarity in your life you must free your mind from distractions. Clarity comes with calming your mind. Some excellent ways to do this include meditation, yoga, journaling, walking or any other activity that gives you a calming feeling, like gardening. If you choose journaling don’t feel like you have to write an epic novel each time. You can write about something that happened that day that made you experience wonder – like seeing an interesting shaped cloud or jot down memories about a favorite vacation. The nice thing about journaling is that when we re-read our entries we are instantly transported back to the time and place we wrote about – calming our mind and giving us clarity of thought.
My number-one thing is that [confidence] doesn’t just happen. You shouldn’t feel discouraged if you’re not waking up and feeling amazing about yourself. That’s not necessarily how it works. It doesn’t take one shopping spree to give you that confidence. It’s a developing process.
– Zendaya
Confidence is indeed an evolving process. Even the world’s most successful women work at growing and maintaining their confidence daily. One of the ways you can improve your confidence is to share your passion with others. Whether it’s at work or as a volunteer, teaching the things you’re good at to young women or women that have never tried them is a huge confidence booster. Another way to improve your confidence is to use affirmations – positive and uplifting statements you say to yourself. You can say these affirmations in your head when you feel unconfident and print them out and post them around your house or workspace to boost your confidence at any time. Confidence can also be gained or improved by stepping outside of your comfort zone and trying something that frightens you, it could be something small like eating out alone or large like taking a hike up a mountain. As long as it initially scares you, it has the potential to boost your confidence significantly once you overcome it.
Anybody pretending to be anything other than who he/she really is will never reach his/her full potential.
– Oprah Winfrey
Consistency comes with being who we are at all times and matching our actions with our deep held internal morals and beliefs. If we pretend to be someone we’re not in order to advance our career, cause or a relationship, we are breaking the sacredness of consistency. Consistency not often talked about, but it is one of the major keys to success. It brings evenness and clarity to the path leading to our goals, because only when there is consistency there is no contradiction. We can gain more consistency in our life by always following our inner compass, committing to a goal for the long-term, avoiding the temptations of instant gratification and training in something every day (for example, yoga, running, meditation, etc.)
Clarity, confidence and consistency. As you’ve seen here, they are so important to have on your life’s journey and on your path to achieving your goals. None of them come easy, but all of them can be attained or improved with effort and determination. With introspection, diligence and repetition, you will see your clarity, confidence and consistency bloom.
