CONFIDENCE!

Do you have it? It’s Poise, self-assurance, Believing in Yourself! Some people can study hard, know the facts, have the talent and still lack Confidence. I’m Gloria Moraga, this blog is part of my One-On-One: Communications In The Digital Age series.  I have been working on videos and a limited Podcast called, Wanting Ice Water, the phrase is taken front a book, and the entire sentence is, “there’s people in Hell who want ice water.”  Sometimes work seems like Hell, and it would be so great to get a glass of ice water.

My Background

I’ve had a rough and wonderful career and done things some people doubted I could do. I’m working to give some of my survival tips to all of you young women and men who struggle at work and in life.

So today, I write and vlog and podcast about confidence. And offer some how-to advice on surviving and thriving in this very complicated digital time.

Please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and share my Podcast. I would love your support.  

Searching for IT – Not Sk’s Nasty Clown

Searching for Confidence. For some of us, this quest can make us feel like the Cowardly Lion searching for Courage.  It’s a horrible feeling, but there are ways to help you overcome your insecurities.

I use the “Power of Positive Thinking”. It’s a good book, written by Norman Vincent Peale, one of the most influential clergymen of his time, he is the author of forty-six books, including the international bestseller.

I highly recommend it and think it is a “must-read’ even if you are not religious.

We All Need HELP.

I take the time each morning or when I’m alone to remember all my gifts. Not things. My gifts. My eyes, my smile, the fact that I can see, and that I still have good teeth. You get it. I’m counting my blessings.

Being thankful is something we all forget to do. I think it’s because we are bombarded with so much negativity and so many haters.

Along those lines, I also think of the things and people I love and say their names to myself. Both of these exercises are a form of meditation and they help me.

My List:

I love Alex and Aiden and Aryah. Jarod, Caroline, Brianna, My Sister. I especially love MY GILLIAN. MY God-Child, the beautiful Gillian. I love Movies. Going to the theater. Plays, a good book, swimming. Barbeque, tacos, pizza. I love life. Just going through this shortlist, I feel hopeful, happier, I’m sure I can do anything.

Use What Works.

We are not born confident; and life, in so many ways knocks us down. So having security blankets or emotional helpers is not a bad thing.

The Confidence Binky – A Magic Feather

My 3-year-old granddaughter, Aryah, still loves her PaPa. She needs her PAPA. Some call it a binky and doctors or therapists call it a pacifier. I’m sure they say it’s bad for her at age three and we need to take it away from her for good. Someone advised we should put hot sauce on it to discourage her from using it.

BIG EYE ROLL HERE.

AND THIS IS IN ALL CAPS because I’m yelling in my brain, “WHAT!!!! NO.”

Sometimes we all need help, the binky, Dumbo’s magic feather. Chocolate. Vodka. Diet Coke. M & M’s.

LIFE’S TOO SHORT TO LIVE WITHOUT DIET COKE!

Sometimes when we lose Aryah’s PAPA, we walk around calling out “PaPa, where are you?” It takes her mind off the fact that she wants it. AND IT’S FUN!

WE ALL NEED MORE FUN.

When you are searching for confidence, like we search for the PaPa, especially at work, there are mental steps you can take to survive and yes, thrive.

It’s important to develop your own survival tactics and plans. Because when you appear to lack confidence it can hurt, hurt your career and in turn, it can hurt your Life.

This is an issued that haunts my talented daughter. She’s asked me to vlog about it. because I have a problem being overly confident about everything.

I get my confidence from my Mom. My mom always made me feel like I could do anything. She’d say, “You can do anything if you work hard.”

This worked for me for many years. 

 When I was a Washington D.C. Correspondent, I faced many impossible assignments, part of it was the manager I worked for but most of it was Life. Life is hard. Work is difficult. And sometimes people expect the impossible.

I DO BELIEVE I’M GREAT! I DO BELIEVE I’M GREAT!

 When I was worried that my stories or video reports were less than good, I played the “I am great!” Affirmation Game.

As I was preparing for live shots I would boost myself up in my mind and say to myself, “This is gonna be a great report! This is going to be great! We’re gonna tell them everything that they need to know! And I am going to be FAMOUS!”

I would tell myself this over and over again as I was walking to my live shots, walking up Capitol Hill, or taking the elevator up to the roof of 400 N. Capitol. I’d do that even though most of the time it wasn’t true!

Fooling 5 Million Viewers.

I was assigned a live shot for KTVU-Channel 2 in Oakland-San Francisco. One of the managers told me once, when you appear on air in the morning there are 5 million people watching you. Huh, Ha! Like that is going to make me feel more confident. 

The news department purchased special live time on the satellite feed and paid extra for a fiber optic live shot across from the U.S. Supreme Court. The Justices were handing down a major decision on Abortion. I was to go live at 10 am. This is exactly when the court gaveled into session. The beginning of the 7 a.m. news in California.

So as a television journalist, a correspondent, I was supposed to do a live shot on a decision that wasn’t going to be handed down for 15 or 20 minutes. One we get the decision; it takes time to read it and figure it out what the hell it means. It’s a process. No matter how much you read and research the issue and case you still need time before you do a live report.

Why would anyone expect me to pull this off?

It’s about this time that I would call all the news managers dumb. And worse!

They just don’t have a clue!  And they don’t care. They don’t know what they are doing.

Prior to that morning, I wrote a background report on the abortion case. I introduced the story on tape, then had 3 minutes while the tape aired then it was back to me for Live Talking about the Court which was pictured behind me.

But I wasn’t inside. I was clueless.

I knew the case well, and as I was walking to the live camera set up, I kept telling myself, this is gonna be the greatest live shot in the history of live shots.

My hair looked great. (Every woman knows that is the most important thing–I’m joking, it’s a hair joke.)

The beautiful white Supreme Court building looked great behind me, and the protestors were chanting loudly.

You’re great Gloria! You are great, you are smart. The networks are going to hire you after this.

So, I was live, I talked and talked, when the decision happened, the producer began feeding me information into my ear, in my IFB (which stands for; interrupt feedback) earpiece. And I repeated what Rose Marie was telling me. 

And we were GREAT. IT WORKED.

As my editor used to say, we fooled them again.

And it was wonderful.

Please give that to your kids. Let your kids know they can do anything.

And give it to yourself. If you are searching for the confidence binky, tell yourself how smart you are, and how good you are, and how hard you’ve worked.

Because you do and you are! And you deserve it.

It works. Confidence in the digital age.

I’m Gloria Moraga, this is Wanting Ice Water, please subscribe and share.

For more on Confidence please listen to my podcast “Confidence: and other Treasures my mother Gave Me: One on One with Linda Moraga.”

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