On Matters of Confidence

I will be in Nashville, Savannah, and Los Angeles on tour in January. Check out those tour dates here.

Also there’s plenty of signed copies of my books at Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans if you’re looking for a last minute holiday gift.

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Hi friends.

I woke up early today, every day, it seems. I want the sleep-late-on-a-Sunday super power. But alas, I am an early riser now, forever, I bet for the rest of my life.

Anyway, first thing I was thinking about a conversation I had with Kayla when we were on tour together in Florida, about her recent experiences coaching people in tennis. (I can only imagine Kayla would be a great coach—she’s hyper-focused, patient, and funny.) She said one of the hardest things to teach people was confidence. Oh baby, did that ring true.

I thought about what I would want and need if I were learning a new sport to make me feel like I could. Maybe it’s not even that I’m good in the moment but that I’m capable of being good someday. Not great, but good, or at least better. I would need positive, but realistic feedback. I would want to learn a few tricks that made me feel empowered. Maybe I would want a cute workout outfit that felt good to put on before I stepped out into the world.

And there was one last thing I was thinking about that Kayla talked about: We all have a lifetime of other people getting in our heads, and we have to learn to shut out those voices.

And sometimes it’s our own voices, too.