Confidence: Self-Determination and Certainty

 

To round off our month of confidence talk, we are focusing on using confidence to build self-determination and certainty in our students. So far, we’ve discussed the Three Rules, participation, and speaking up, and how confidence plays into these different skills. Not unlike the rest, self-determination and certainty are two important qualities that are influenced by confidence.

 

Self-Determination

At MPAMA, we define self-determination as knowing your goals, your worth, and what you are capable of achieving. Moreover, we believe that it is essential to have confidence in these attributes. Although humility is another exemplary trait, it is important to know when, and how, to “sell” yourself. This is an important thing to do when applying for jobs and colleges, and practicing self-determination can make all the difference in these huge decisions.

 

Certainty

In regards to certainty, our team strives to teach our students to be sure of themselves, and the work that they do. This character trait can apply to almost any circumstance, from knowing you have the right answer when raising your hand in class to being confident in your ability to present a form during your belt test. Being certain means trusting your own knowledge and skills, which takes confidence.

 

Useful for All

Even for our younger students, self-determination and certainty are no less important. For kids, it’s important to have these attributes in school, because learning new material often requires you to draw on concepts from past grades and classes. This is especially true when taking challenging tests or completing comprehensive projects. That means that we need to constantly stay fresh and solid with even the most basic concepts, and be certain in our understanding of them.

 

In our classes this week, we will spend time helping our students develop self-determination and certainty by having them keep a mental list of the accomplishments and achievements they are most proud of. Preparing such a list will help our students develop more confidence in their abilities, while also being a useful tool when creating a resume, applying for college, or even trying out for school sports. Additionally, we will teach our students to always be confident in their answers, whether it’s for a teacher’s question or a problem on a test.

 

Beware…

Be careful, however, not to take self-determination and certainty too far. Remember that boasting and bragging are different from “selling” yourself and knowing what you’re capable of. Make sure not to put others down for the sake of touting your accomplishments or showing off.

In Conclusion…

At the end of the day, it’s important to have confidence, self-determination, and certainty, that way we can reduce our feelings of self-doubt, and so that we don’t sell ourselves short. We are all capable of doing whatever we set our minds to!