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| I saw this penguin staring down a rubber duck at the aquarium. I love his confidence and the fact that he's not backing down. |
I'm not one for rash resolutions just because it's the new year; but I am for creating change, reflection and continued improvement. There are several things that I have recently begun or am planning to start/get back into, but ultimately they all contribute to my one resolution, something that I have been reflecting on and working upon for the past year.
This year, I am resolving to try to be confident.
I'm hoping to do this in ways both big and small that add up to me beginning to trust myself and my decisions and not to agonize over every choice after the fact. Change doesn't come suddenly, it takes work and reflection and messing up and trying again. I know that there is a lot of work I need to do with the taking care of me; to begin I am going to (try) to stop apologizing for things that don't need an apology because I'm quite guilty of saying "I'm sorry" when someone else bumps into me or when someone is angry near me or.....the list is embarrassingly long. I'm also going to try to be more confident in my casual, day to day interactions with people. Like many people, I am not overly happy with my physical appearance and, as a result, I often look down when walking down the street or display nervous body postures when talking to those I don't know well-all of which come across as slightly aloof, not a reflection I want to give.
As I work hard to show better confidence in small ways, I also want to work on my professional confidence. In a detached way, I know that I understand child development and working with families and young children deeply and am able to apply this understanding in my work and in professional conversations. But, in the day to day, I second guess myself constantly. Especially when confronted. On a practical level, I need to be more confident in what I know and do so that the families I work with are able to feel secure in our relationships. On a professional level, confidence in my knowledge and practice is necessary for the eventual direction I want to take in the field of early childhood care and education. On a political level, teachers of young children need to be confident in what we do in a way that allows us to defend play, children and families, and our profession.
This is my resolution for change. One I hope is realistic and one I know will be a lot of hard work.
Meg I have so many similar thoughts (and traits). I feel like I am not always a good advocate for kids and families because I lack confidence. I don't always speak up for what I believe in, especially around particular types of personalities, I am still working on it. I can say that I have improved on a professional level over the last 20 years but it was definitely a process so be patient with yourself. Your reasons for being more confident are spot on. Confidence is critical for gaining rapport with a family. I have witnessed professionals who instead of showing confidence like they think they might, instead are patronizing toward families. I had a co worker tell me last year that I share evaluation results with parents with clarity, calmness, compassion and confidence. The confidence part was so good to hear because that has been slower to develop and I think is the basis for all those other adjectives. Pretty difficult to be clear if you are not confident. My favorite reason you cited is the last one. It is so true. If our field does not demonstrate confidence in sharing and demonstrating what we know is best for young children, those in the political arena are not going to take us seriously. That is why we need to keep talking about research and evidence based practices, share what works with others through social media and ask tough questions! This post really got me thinking and reflecting, I am confident :) that you are going to make a big difference in this field.
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