I have always supposed that some folks are just born with confidence and some of us have to earn it. Maybe we all do.I still don’t know, because most of us have learned to put on the mask of confidence when we are feeling unsure of ourselves.

Walk into a party of people you don’t know? Stand up in front of a group to speak? Job interview? Yikes! Maybe I’ll just stay home and read instead. Who needs new friends, or a better job? Oh, yeah–me! So I put on my mask of confidence and face the unknown. My mother once told me that if you feel unsure, pretend you’re fine and pretty quickly you will begin to feel more assured. People will respond to your seeming confidence and you will respond to their belief in you. (fake it ’til you make it…) As a teenager that was really hard. As an adult, it got easier. I tried to keep that confident mask in my hip pocket, ready to pull out whenever I needed it. I need that mask less often these days than I used to. That is one of the gifts of age–knowing what you know and caring less about what others think, but I still need that mask from time to time. It has become a part of me. Do you have a mask of confidence?

The Mask of Confidence

14″ x 20″

Terry Grant