Second… we hear it all the time… stop caring about what people think about you and who they think you should be. One of my favorite quotes “I’d rather be disliked for who I am, than liked for who I’m not”, sums it up pretty well. I think people get too caught up in what other people think. “Do they think I ‘m good looking, funny, popular?” Instead, ask yourself if you’re happy with you. If you spend your time trying to be what everyone else wants you to be you won’t ever find happiness.

Not everybody is going to be liked by everyone because not one person on this earth is exactly the same as the next. Isn’t that what makes us so special? I’m always trying to improve who I am as a person but I embrace my flaws, and the freedom we have to be able to express ourselves as individuals. So instead of trying to be what you think everyone else thinks you should be, ask yourself who JUST YOU are, take it, and run with it!

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”

~Judy Garland

con⋅fi⋅dent

Definition: having strong belief or full assurance; sure.

cock⋅y

Definition: arrogant; pertly self-assertive; conceited.

Some key things I’ve noticed when differentiating cocky from confident.

Can they take a joke? When someone is confident they can take a joke with a sense of humor, turn constructive criticism into change, and tasteless stabs into dust.  Cocky people on the other hand, can become very defensive with particular jokes, criticism, and personal stabs; typically they lash out in response.

Who sets whos’ standards? A confident individual sets goals for himself to become a better person.  A cocky individual sets out to “beat someone”, and sets goals pertinent to build themselves up and put others down…. Which leads me into…

Are they a good student? Confident people love to learn. They know that you can always make improvement in your life and aren’t afraid to admit they don’t know everything.  And even if they are very knowledgeable in a particular area, they know that listening to others can bring a new perspective to the table and acknowledge the other person’s value even if they really didn’t learn anything new.  Cocky people usually think they know everything and don’t need improvement.  And some on the very far end of the spectrum might even know that they are wrong, but won’t admit it and instead find ways to justify why they’re right.

Remember, Everyone has insecurities, but not everyone is insecure.  You can have weaknesses without being weak.  Insecurity drives the cocky man, but humility drives the confident man.

cour⋅age

[kur-ij, kuhr-]

Cowgirl/Video Blogging Lessons Learned: Start out small and simple, you have to start somewhere.  If your waiting to try something new because you want to make sure everything is “just right” (the timing, the detail, etc.), you’ll never get around it to.  You can always make things better, and nothing will ever be perfect, so start now and build from there!  And remember, learning experiences stem from both success and failure, so don’t be afraid to make a mistake.  For example… in my  first video.. the lighting isn’t perfect, my hair is kinda of in my face, the shot isn’t “tight”, and I’m sure I could name a million more things…but i did it!  I took that leap off the cliff and faced my fear.  Now it’s not a matter of doing it, but instead working on taking the small steps to improve from here on out.

Quote: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.”  ~Ambrose Redmoon

Link/Video about failure (mentioned above) at Tina Seelig’s Blog