Say Yes To Confidence

“Not All Coaches Are The Same”

The other day I was talking to a good mate of mine about popular misapprehensions about coaching.

“Let’s face it”, Annie, he said; “not all professions are created equal. Some of the less publicly acceptable ones include: tax inspector, funeral director, proctologist, bailiff and, nestling in there among them lies your own professional label, ‘coach’.” 

“Thanks for sharing that, John”, I replied. 

“You’re welcome”, he said, grinning that demonic grin of his. “I hate to tell you this” – trust me, he didn’t, he was loving it – “These days even hydrotherapists (aka colonic irrigationists) and call girls are better regarded, thanks to Billy Piper.” (John is a big fan of Billy Piper.) 

Ever the ‘contrarian’, John continued:

Who Else Wants More Confidence?

 Can you ever be too rich, too drop dead gorgeous, or too confident? Seemingly not, barring the very occasional exception that only proves the rule. (There's always one, isn't there?)

Confidence is something we assess from the outside. They have it, or so we think, because they behave differently to us. Of course, in a lot of cases, they only behave that way to cover up their lack of confidence. (But we don’t see that, because we are too busy worrying about our lack of confidence.)

One of the great paradoxes about confidence is...

"What Size Are Your Boots?"

You might be wondering: “What possible interest could the size of my boots hold for you, Annie?” 

(Sure, I’m not offering to buy them, and I’m not plotting to run off with them. Not unless you have some nice pairs of Jimmy Choo’s – unworn, please – in a size 4½. In which case, please notify me, asap.)

So, to a point you’d be right, I’m not hugely interested in your shoe size, per se. But here’s what I am interested in: that old anxiety about ‘being too big for your boots’.

Isn’t funny how often children are told: “You are getting too big for your boots”?