Sometimes, people will come into our lives and can 'believe' in us and all we are capable of, before we fully believe or see the strength within ourselves.
It could be a teacher, friend, partner, mentor, stranger. It has happened to me many times through out life and their genuine encouragement lands so deeply, almost like it gives us permission to try, to speak up, to move forward, to go all in on something we have been in fear of doing.
This where courage can appear but truth be told courage isn’t really 'given' to us. It’s activated. 🌞 ✨
And often what activates it is not the person themselves but what they are reflecting back to us.. Let's go deeper into the inner-work behind courage, confidence and belief..
Why Encouragement Feels So Powerful
From a psychological perspective, encouragement creates safety.
When someone stands beside us, believes in us or holds space for us, our nervous system calms down. We feel less alone, less exposed, less afraid of getting it wrong or being in threat.
This sense of safety allows us to access parts of ourselves that were already there; confidence, capability, strength but perhaps lay dormant. In many ways, encouragement works because it acts as a mirror. 🪞
We see ourselves through someone else’s eyes and for a moment; we borrow their belief or it penetrates through us and sometimes that is exactly what we need to begin. There is no right or wrong way to confidence just alternate routes.
Borrowed Belief vs. Inner Belief
There is nothing weak or wrong about needing encouragement (I myself and many others i know have needed it at the best of times). We are relational beings and we do regulate through connection and grow through reflection.
But there does comes a point where borrowed belief must slowly become internal belief because external encouragement while beautiful and extremely powerful is not always available.
Not everyone has someone in their corner or feels supported. Nor is everyone surrounded by people who understand their dreams or even encourage it. Maybe you have someone doing the entire opposite: ridiculing you, laughing at your expense or belittling you into a corner.
And this is where and why it is crucial you hold courage, confidence and belief within.
Becoming Your Own Source of Safety
True confidence isn’t always loud or super performative and it isn’t built soley through constant validation.
It’s built through self-trust. 💛 🙏
Self-trust grows when you learn to:
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Stay with yourself when things feel uncomfortable
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Encourage yourself instead of abandoning yourself
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Speak to yourself with steadiness rather than criticism
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Follow through on small promises you make to yourself
Over time, your nervous system learns: 'I am safe with me.' And from that safety, courage naturally emerges.
The Courage to Stand With Yourself
One of the most powerful shifts you can make is this:
💭 Instead of asking, “Who will believe in me?” Begin asking, “How can I stand beside myself today?”
This doesn’t mean isolating yourself or rejecting support. It means cultivating inner authority; the ability to self-soothe, self-encourage and self-direct.
Courage grows when you become your own steady presence. When you learn to meet doubt with self-compassion, witness your own growth and choose to keep going regardless if anyone is clapping. 
Courage Is a Practice Not a Personality Trait
So often we think confidence is something you either have or don’t. In reality, courage is something you practice and it most certainly can be built.
It’s built in moments like:
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Choosing to try again despite failure or lack of encouragement
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Writing down your intentions, goals and dreams and doing something small everyday to get closer toward them
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Acknowledging how far you’ve come and congratulating yourself for your efforts and bravery
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Giving yourself permission to move at your own pace, speak kindly to yourself and stay in your own lane
Each small act of self-support becomes evidence and evidence builds belief. If you’re in a season where encouragement feels scarce, please know this:
You are not broken or behind + you are capable of achieving whatever you desire. You just have to have faith in yourself and that life is supporting you along the way 🙏
Sometimes the work is simply learning to become the voice you’ve been waiting for. This is why we created the Morning Manifestation Journal; not as a tool to “fix” you but as a space to practice self-encouragement, clarity and trust. (learn more on the Morning Manifestation Journal here) 📕 ✨
A place to witness yourself, reflect, build courage consistently and in your own time because confidence doesn’t arrive all at once. It’s built gently from within.
📖 Feel free to browse our other blog-posts as i upload frequently on all things alignment, self-care, well-being and spirituality.
With love,
AMIIRA
courage from within - building self belief - inner confidence - self trust and confidence - emotional safety and confidence - how to build courage - inner work for confidence - nervous system and self belief - self encouragement practices - confidence without external validation - becoming your own support system
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