5 Reasons People Lack Confidence

Are you wanting to start something new, however are lacking confidence? At the moment, I am in the process of learning a movement class and am struggling. This feeling is familiar to me. Subsequently, I wanted to investigate why do people lack confidence?

What is Confidence?

Before I start, let’s have a look at some definitions of confidence –

• “the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something” ~ Google
• “a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or of reliance on one’s circumstances” ~ Merriam-Webster Dictionary
• “a feeling of trust in a person or thing” and “belief in one’s own abilities; self-assurance” ~ Collins Dictionary
• “belief in oneself and one’s powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance” ~ Dictionary.com

You can see by these definitions they refer to the feeling of confidence as well as the action of confidence.

5 Reasons Why People Lack Confidence –

Wondering why people lack confidence? Well we don’t lack confidence in everything, we lack confidence in specific activities in specific areas of life. In the book The Confidence Gap: A Guide to Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt, Russ Harris shares the following 5 reasons people lack confidence –

1. Excessive expectations – ever felt you have to be perfect? Well you know what it is like to have excessive expectations!
2. Harsh self-judgement – you know that voice inside your head that tells you that you don’t have what it takes or that you’re not good enough? Or maybe you are feeling like a fraud and are working with the imposter syndrome?
3. Preoccupation with fear – most of us have fears (i.e. fearful of rejection, failure or success), however do you have a preoccupation with fear?
4. Lack of experience – having little or no experience doing an activity, can have an impact on your confidence.
5. Lack of skills – are just starting a new activity? Well you know what I am talking about! It is not natural to feel confident doing something unless you are quite good at it.

As I am reading these 5 reasons, I can see why I am struggling a bit (i.e. number 1 and 4). What about you, are you learning something new? If so, can you relate to any of these reasons people lack confidence?

I hope this post has given you some insight in to the reasons people lack confidence and if you have any questions, please feel free to comment below or contact me here.

If you are ready to reconnect with your courage and take the next step towards freedom by opening your heart and living above the line, why not join our Toolkit?

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Reference –

Harris, R. (2010). The Confidence Gap: A Guide to Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt. Victoria, Australia: Penguin Group.