How are you so confident?

Hey champ,

Alright I’m finally gonna lift the lid on the topic you ask me about every single day:

Confidence.

When I scroll through the hundreds of comments left on my Instagram and Facebook posts every day, my confidence is the thing people most want to know about. They want to know how I got it, where it comes from and how they can bottle some of it for themselves.

“How are you so confident?”

Let me take you on a little trip down memory lane (cue the wavy pictures, wind chimes and soft lighting).

Before the fire, I was a super confident person. I was athletic, I had a good job, I had an awesome boyfriend, I had a big circle of friends, I raised money for charities. I was killing it and my confidence was sky high.

And then the fire came along and changed everything.

I found myself in a hospital bed with my physical abilities completely stripped away. I was made redundant from my job, I was socially isolated (my friends were all off working and travelling the world, and I was stuck in rehab), I was forced to wear a compression mask that made me stick out like a sore thumb, my boyfriend became my carer and I was completely dependent on him and my mum to do the most basic of tasks.

I also lost pride in my appearance – I would wear Michael’s t-shirts and track pants with crocs (stylish, I know!) and Michael would have to brush my hair, on the rare occasion that I let him!

Instead of spending my weekends rock climbing in gorges with Michael, I was spending my weeks at rehab centres and was constantly in and out of operating theatres.

So, yep, as you can imagine, I wasn’t exactly feeling confident.

I had to slowly rebuild my ability to do the things that made me feel confident: running, surfing, challenging myself physically, raising money for charities, studying, reading and getting smarter. I also started taking pride in my appearance again – I started brushing my hair, wearing cool gym outfits and painting my toenails. All of these ‘little things’ came together and slowly, my confidence grew and grew.

I learnt so much during that time.

And I love sharing the little tips and tools I’ve picked up along the way. Sometimes, a few little changes can have a big impact on how you feel.

So, next Tuesday night (September 19, 6pm AEST) I’m going LIVE on Facebook to answer your q’s about confidence and to share some of my favourite confidence-boosting hacks with you.

Also, I reckon the earlier kids and teenagers learn this stuff the better! So if you’ve got kids, grab them too. I’ll lift the lid on a few simple tips and tools shared in my new eBook for teens Good Selfie and I’ll answer questions like these:

• What can you do to feel more confident?

• How do you stop comparing yourself to everyone else?

• What do you do when you feel unconfident and self-conscious?

By the end, you’ll know where your confidence really comes from, how to overcome common confidence traps and how to shut down negative self-talk and stop it getting in your own way.

Oh, and I also want to give you a little gift. I want to share the Good Selfie chapter on Confidence with you. You can download the chapter for free by using the little form on this page.

I’ll go through some of these activities on Tuesday, so print it out so you’re ready to go!

NOTE: Don’t be put off by the idea that Good Selfie was written for teens!
The tips I share are universally helpful – they’re the tools and techniques I still use to this day to keep my confidence high. I’ve had teachers, parents and grandparents alike email me letting me know how the tips in Good Selfie have helped re-frame the way they see themselves and how they build confidence.

So, it doesn’t matter how young or old you are – jump in. It’s free!

See you next Tuesday,
Turia xx

PS – Don’t want to miss my posts? I don’t blame ya! Pop your details here so I can let you know the next time I share a strategy like this one.