Sarah had low self-confidence all of her life. An undiagnosed reading disorder meant she struggled in school and college. A verbally abusive spouse meant she was often belittled at home.

But despite this Sarah was able to shine at work where she was a book cover designer. Her skills meant she was employed by one of the top New York publishing houses and one of the editors took Sarah under her wing.

She noticed Sarah’s low self-esteem and encouraged her to focus on developing her self-confidence. She said, “Think of self-confidence as a gift you give yourself.”

As Sarah began working on her confidence, she noticed many wonderful benefits to it. Here are just a few of the gifts that come from developing your own self-confidence…

Understand Your Value

Sarah had undervalued her skills for years thinking she didn’t really do anything special. But when she was at the company’s town hall meeting one day, she realized all of their best-sellers were covers she had designed.

Becoming confident means that you begin to recognize the value you bring into a situation. This might be the years of experience you have, the unique gift of discernment, or the gentle leadership style you employ.

It’s easy to downplay these gifts and think they don’t mean much. But self-confidence means you begin to appreciate and celebrate these wonderful qualities in yourself.

Know What You Want

The more confident you become, the easier it gets to know your own mind. That’s because you’re no longer overwhelmed by doubt, insecurity, and fear constantly. With your mind quiet, you’re finally free to listen to your wise inner voice.

Many women are not living lives that make them happy simply because they don’t know what they want. This disconnect from their authentic selves means they accept situations that make them miserable and believe they can’t do anything.

But women with confidence learn to slow down and listen to their guide. They recognize their strong, beautiful authentic self and they work hard to stay in tune with her.

Discover the Ability to Dream

The ability to dream—to imagine a different life than the one you currently live—is a rare and precious gift. It’s also a hallmark of confidence.

When you’re confident in yourself and your abilities, you’re free to imagine anything you want. You might be happily married with three kids and suddenly discover that what you’re really dreaming of is living a nomadic lifestyle for the next year in an RV with your children.

Confidence doesn’t mean that you’ll wave a magic wand and make this happen tomorrow. But it does mean that you’ll have the courage to look at your dream and say, “I have the power to make this a reality!”

Embrace Laughing at Yourself

The more confident you become, the easier it is to laugh at yourself. That’s because when you’re confident, you’re no longer so focused on your insecurities and busy fearing that everyone saw you mess up.

Instead, you’ll give yourself the grace to be human, acknowledge your mistake, and laugh it off. You’re free to make all the mistakes you need to when you’re fully confident in who you are.

Surround Yourself with Community

There’s something about an authentic, confident woman that invites community. People want to be like her. They want to hear how she did it. They want that confidence to rub off on them. So, they come close, they gather around her.

The truth is that like attracts like within the universe. This is especially true when it comes to friendship. The more confident and authentic you are, the more you’ll attract friends who are also confident and authentic.

Find True Happiness

As your confidence grows, you may also notice another unexpected gift: happiness. The more confident you are, the less time you spend scrolling through an app filled with pretty pictures, wishing that were your life.

Instead, confidence gives you the ability to appreciate what you have and rest secure in the knowledge of who you are. A confident woman recognizes that no one’s life is “Instagram perfect” and she doesn’t try to make hers like that.

That is the conclusion of part one. I will post part two tomorrow. Until then stay safe, and keep the faith.