@What it took for me to feel confident was going to therapy. I learned to set limits on the areas where I had power and responsibility. I couldn’t control everything. In fact, I couldn’t control anything other than my own self and my own actions. Then taking full responsibility for my own actions and doing the best I could with that smaller piece of life. It helped my confidence immensely.

For instance, I started to learn to play the drums at age 41. My teacher made me find a group to play with the first week!!! Whew! Was my lack of confidence a barrier? Yes. But I did it anyway knowing I had exactly one weeks experience and that I would quickly learn from the experience. I had the confidence to trust my teacher, my own ability to learn, the process, and it worked. I got through it and improved my playing.

Thanks for your article.