Toward Growth of Self-Confidence
When the clumsy youngster learns to ride a bike. and becomes prof1cient at it. some bit is ~ldded to his or her feeling of self· confidence. The artist who sells a painting and the author who gets a good book review finds his or her self-confidence enhanced. But what if the paintilig :;oes unsold and the book gets bad reviews?
Self-l:onfidenc:e comes througp self-understanding and rplates closely to what we do vvith our abilities and how we learn to work around our disabilities. It is also important to recognize that we all tell to slip back at times, to feel inferior to others. It is difficult to cont,.Dually keep our strong points it: mind; perhaps we shouldn't even expect to do so. Self-understand~ng, and hence self-confidence, comes, as CuI Rogers says, from "being open to experience.'.' This is the opposite of being defensive. Our personal self-evaluation is determined gradually as we come into contact with competition. One reason the adolescent has so much difficulty in de ,reloping a positive self-image is his tendency to compare himself with "the ide~." Girls who try to rate their own physh:al attractiveness may feel inferior when they use a cover girl as a model. Boys often make comparisons with adults and come off second best. As we become more sophisticated, we become more realistic; the loss of idealism is a price we come to pay. Perhaps this is one reason why older college students are found to be more cynical (or wise!) than younger ones.
One must learn to trust his own experiences. He must be able to separate his real self from some role he may be playing. Although we are all influenced by early experiences, behavior is not irrevocably set. One of the beneficial effects of college experience is that it makes us aware of new possibilities for change and growth. Self-understandine is aided by both training and education, but it is still difficult to acnieve. It. is easier to understand another person's motives thnn our own.
Gaining self-confidence demands that we start somewhere. The college setting offers opportunity in the competitive environment of the classroom. Here we can always find room for improvement. "Learning to learn" has a payoff not only in the acquisition of good study habits but also in its contribution to the growth of selfconfidence.
