The other day I was waiting in line at our local grocery store. It’s kinda like a mini-Whole Foods. Note: There were no horses tethered in the parking lot. (Hah.)
As I was standing there in line pleasantly “bored” (without my smartphone) and looking forward to some micro-moments of positivity resonance with Annie, the sweet woman who knows our kids by name and gives them stickers every time we see her, I glanced at the magazines on display.
My attention was caught by the lead story on the cover of one of the Buddhist magazines on display: “Creating a Confident, Dignified Mind.”
What a beautiful invitation!!
I particularly loved the combination of “confident” and “dignified” and found myself rolling those two words together in my mind later that day.
Confident. Dignified.
We talked about the etymology of the word confidence in Confidence 101. It comes from the Latin words con and fidere and literally means “with intense trust.”
So… Confidence = INTENSE TRUST.
Intense trust in what? Not that everything will always go perfectly. That’s silly. True confidence is all about intense trust in OURSELVES. Intense trust in the fact that, no matter what life serves up, we’ve got what it takes to respond powerfully. THAT is true confidence. (Love that word.)
But what about dignity? What’s the etymology of THAT word?
Enter: Another trip to the dictionary.
Dignity also has Latin roots. It comes from the Latin dignitas. It literally means “worthy.”
To have dignity is to be WORTHY. Wow. I love THAT word as well.
So much so that it immediately made its way onto the privileged upper right corner of my blackboard AND the upper left corner of my whiteboard. 🤓
As I reflected on the beauty of the word, Confucius came to mind. Specifically, this +1 in which we reflected on the fact that if we want recognition, we need to focus on being WORTHY of it. As per the Analects: “The Master said, He does not mind not being in office; all he minds about is whether he has qualities that entitle him to office. He does not mind failing to get recognition; he is too busy doing the things that entitle him to recognition.”
That’s Today’s +1.
Let’s have fun creating intense trust in our abilities to respond powerfully to everything life gives us while humbly doing the work to be worthy of leading and serving profoundly.
+1. +1. +1.
Unlock this Heroic +1 (and over 1,000 more)!
Create your account to get more wisdom in less time. Personal development made simple so you can flourish in energy, work, and love. Today.
