Sometimes all we need is time.
Time to learn.
Time to heal.
Time to grow.
And time to appreciate the time.
That last one is the roughest, it can also be the longest.
Over all of this, we garner confidence.
But with just a touch of it, we can accomplish things we never thought possible.
Reddit provided us with a ton of hopeful stories.
Redditor kyukale0310 wanted everyone to share about what life is like with a little more self-worth and asked:
"What do you do confidently now that made you feel weird in the past?"
For me, I'm better at life in general with confidence. Still a long way to go.
Gimme!
Pay Me Season 3 GIF by Good TroubleGiphy"Asking people to pay back money they borrowed."
macabre_irony
"God, back in my senior year of college, I used to dread asking my roommates to give me the money for the bills. No idea why, since that's what they agreed to, I just felt like such an a**hole for doing so."
Dahhhkness
Packaging
"Unwrapping a tampon in a public bathroom."
anonuglysimpleetc
"Lol. The differences in experiences here are great. I definitely used to pretend I was unwrapping a tampon so it didn't sound like I was just waiting for the other person to leave so I could poop."
churlishcurls
"Yeah so ironic how all the adverts talk about how 'small and discrete' their new tampon is, but still make the packaging the loudest sound in the world."
Amazon_river
I just love birds...
"Paint/draw and then share it with strangers. I did not grow up with art and had absolutely no confidence in attempting it. During our quarantine this spring, I taught myself how to watercolor and draw birds and am now selling prints and stickers and donating 100% of the profits to bird conservation groups. I just love birds."
bakedfish
Turn Around
"Walking down the street, realizing I was going in the wrong direction, and making a U-turn without pretending to have forgotten something."
jam_jj_
"Same here. My old tactic, since the cell phone era began, was to stop in front of some building, look around like I was waiting for someone, and pretend to call or text that person until I was certain that anyone who might've seen me was well out of distance before turning around."
Dahhhkness
All Wet
Pool Party Swimming GIF by Party Down SouthGiphy"Swim without a shirt on. My sisters made fun of how I looked without a shirt on when I was like 12 and it stuck with me for years. Just the other day I went to the beach and realized that I finally don’t care anymore."
eternalrefuge86
That shirtless swim is still an uphill battle for me.
Hear Me!
hear me what GIF by Rico NastyGiphy"Saying how I feel. I'd usually bottle things up because I didn't want to upset anyone."
Dining Out
"Going out for a meal on my own."
SnooMacaroons08
"Thank you for this one! You reminded me of the first time I did this when I was about 20 years old. Moved into a new neighborhood and really wanted to try this cute little place down the street from my apartment but was solo."
"Put it off too many nights to admit, until finally said screw it, grabbed a book, got a table and had the 4 course prixfix menu and I loved it! I was super nervous and embarrassed, but ended up having a pretty damn fine time, ends up I’m ok company!"
cookinmy**ckinassoff
All of It
"So many things! Getting older and caring less about what people who don’t matter to me think of me has been extremely liberating. I’ve also learned that most people aren’t actually paying attention when you do something stupid or embarrassing, people are usually off in their own little worlds."
"I was a very self-conscious and eccentric child, but adult me has fully embraced my weird side, and it’s wonderful. I am who I am meant to be, and I’m surrounded by amazing people."
BlackCaaaaat
Cinema Time
"Not really at the present, not since February, but going to the cinema alone. First time I ever did, back in 2016 it felt weird to be honest. Even had a mother ask me if I was waiting for anyone when I saw Kong: Skull Island, but now I actually prefer it most times."
"It means I don’t have to worry about scheduling with a friend on what day’s best."
"Don’t get me wrong, I have still gone with friends but 90-95% of the time I go alone, I can do whatever I want before or afterwards, whether to look around the shops or just go straight home."
comrade_batman
Proud
Speech Language GIF by jetlifebabyGiphy"ENGLISH! I used to be terrible and my accent still sucks sometimes, but after more than 20 years of practice and a bachelor degree from an English university, now I'm quite proud to be bilingual."
Sometimes it only takes a bunch of practice.
What do you now do with confidence that you wouldn't have done years ago? Let us know in the comments.
@PreetBharara/X
@RepBrendanBoyle/X
@twesq/Bluesky
@christopherharris/Bluesky
@evangelinewarren/X
@FrankC164/X
AMC