7 Powerful Quotes to Help You Feel Confident

The difference between confidence, self-esteem and self-worth

One of the biggest things that holds us back from doing the things we really want to do in life, is our confidence.

If you have the 3-3 or 7-7 energy in your Soul Contract, like I do, confidence might be something that you struggle with. We’re all here to come out of hiding and recognise the unlimited perfection and potential within all of us, yet it can be our toughest challenge.

A lack of confidence can also be known as low self-esteem, or low self-worth. While it may seem, on the surface, that confidence, self-esteem and self-worth are all the same things, they’re actually completely different.

Our self-worth is the foundation of who we are - it is the knowing of our perfection, worthiness and divinity. It is the embodiment of ‘I am alive and therefore I am worthy’. It means that there is nothing we have to prove to feel worthy - we are worthy just by being born.

At its core it tells us - we have always been enough as we are, we are enough now, and we will always be enough.

The second level up is our self-esteem. Self-esteem is linked to how we feel about ourselves depending on how well we do things. Our self-esteem can feel high when we succeed, and low when we feel like we’ve failed.

It’s completely natural and normal for our self-esteem to fluctuate - we all have good days and bad days. Sometimes we do well, and other times we don’t. Like being a football player - some days we score goals and win the match, and feel really good about ourselves. Other days we don’t score a single goal, we lose the match, and we end up feeling despondent and defeated.

This is absolutely normal human behaviour - self-esteem is variable, flexible and bendy. And it can be, if it sits on a strong foundation of self-worth.

The final layer is our confidence. Our confidence is how we project ourselves out into the world, and is as strong as the self-esteem and self-worth that it’s built upon.

Ultimately, true confidence comes from knowing our worth and having high self-esteem for what we’re doing.

What does feeling confident really mean?

So, if we want to be confident, we first need to build a healthy foundation of self-worth, and allow ourselves to fluctuate in self-esteem - some days we do well and some days we don’t, which is all part of being human. The tricky part is that most of us focus on self-esteem, thinking that the more we ‘do’ the better we’ll feel about ourselves.

If the footballer bases his confidence on how many goals he scores and matches he wins, he’s going to feel great, until he stops scoring goals and starts losing his matches. Then, he’s going to be feeling pretty terrible, because there’s no healthy self-worth underneath him to catch him.

Self-esteem is like a cord that externally attaches to what we do, which is fragile and easily broken. Whereas self-worth is an unshakable force within us that nothing can shift. It’s there and it’s immovable. And confidence? Well, confidence is the beautiful energy that we give off to the world based on that powerful knowing of our worthiness that comes from within.

So, having broken down the basic differences between self-worth, self-esteem and confidence, let's dive into 7 powerful quotes to help you feel confident.

1. “Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your handbrake on.” - Maxwell Maltz

This is such a powerful description of how much a lack of self-worth can really limit our life.

Driving with the handbrake on is like driving in second gear when we really want to be driving in fifth, which we know can feel incredibly frustrating.

One of the biggest parts of having this human experience on earth is that we forget we are co-creators, with Spirit, and we have this wonderful human body which is the way that we can create and manifest.

However, in order to really be able to make it all work, it all needs to be aligned - mind, body and soul..This means the handbrake needs to be firmly off so we can come into a more fluid, graceful and flowing relationship with life, where everything feels easier to navigate.

When we hold ourselves back, due to unworthiness and not feeling deserving, we are only causing ourselves more friction and resistance in our life, that doesn’t need to be there.

It’s easy to forget that we are powerful co-creators of our reality - it’s part of the programming within the matrix down here that makes us feel so powerless and limited - but we’re not limited at all. The best thing about this quote is that it’s a reminder that we are the ones who can take the handbrake off.

We are not power-less, we are power-ful, and we can decide to work on our self-worth and take that handbrake off at any point we choose.

2. “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” - Buddha

Any quote by Buddha is bound to be beautiful, and this one doesn’t disappoint.

I believe that one of the biggest learnings for us all is how to soften out of self-judgement and come into self-appreciation. Loving ourselves is one of the toughest challenges of all, but there are steps we can take to come into this deep sense of self-love.

The first thing we need to do is to learn how to accept ourselves, especially the parts of us that we reject, judge or hate. This is what shadow work is all about. While it can feel incredibly painful to face everything we dislike about ourselves, it’s the most catalytic work there is out there for our growth.

The next step is to learn how to embrace ourselves.

This is moving a step beyond accepting ourselves, and into a deeper embrace of who we are - like giving ourselves the comfort of a hug, and leaning to lean into who we are, rather than leaning away.

The final part is learning to love ourselves. This is the last stage, after moving through resistance, rejection and judgement, and it’s here that we can acknowledge all the parts of us, and recognise our perfection, exactly as we are.

It’s then that we can give ourselves the love and affection that Buddha is talking about here.

3. “When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.” - Lao Tzu

Comparison is something that I’ve struggled with all of my life.

Part of this is due to the strong 12-3 energies in my Soul Contract that are all about learning my worth, and so I can tend to compare myself to others in order to get a sense of my worth. The 3 is also the busy energy which tends to stay in the doing mode in order not to have to sit still and feel the unworthiness within.

When we struggle with comparison, it’s a sign for us that we’re not rooted in our worth.

The ego-mind will always want to compare, compete and measure its progress in relation to others, but our role is to quieten it, so the truth of the soul can be heard.

The truth of the soul is exactly what Lao Tzu shares here but I’d also add that when we’re content to simple be ourselves, that’s when we uncover the deep well of stillness and peace within us that comparison and low-self worth is always trying to disturb,

We all have that inner well of deep contentment and wisdom within, we just need to look inwards to uncover it, rather than outwards, which only serves to lead us further away from it.

4. “Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.”- Brené Brown

I love to talk about role expectations because the expectations we, and others, place on ourselves, can often be a major source of our discomfort and suffering.

We’re all made up of layers and layers of cultural conditioning, soul programming, past lives, parental imprints and so much more, and this is what distorts the truth buried deep within - that we are absolutely perfect as we are.

It’s by cutting through those layers that we create the path to our true, authentic self that’s hidden underneath.

It’s hard to find our unique self when we’re surrounded by family members, society and other lives that are all trying to imprint on us, and it’s one of our greatest challenges to find the strength to say ‘no’ to how these imprinted energies want us to live, that is the key message in Brené’s quote.

We’re here to step out of the box that the world tries to cage us into, and this means knowing our worth and putting up those all-important boundaries.

When we lovingly, but firmly, let go of what these energies expect from us, we find our freedom. This is the true embodiment of self-worth - knowing that we can override the fear of being seen, judged or persecuted, and fully embrace who we truly are.

5. “You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” - Louise Hay

Louise Hay was a huge source of learning for me as I grew into my own emotional healing and spiritual awakening. I’m deeply grateful for the wisdom she brought into the world - wisdom that was truly groundbreaking at the time, and still feels relevant today.

Many of us grew up without an understanding that we have an emotional body as well as a physical one, or that the two are deeply connected. We carry our emotions in the cells of our body; the mind and body aren’t separate, but part of one intelligent, interconnected system.

Louise understood that the way we speak to ourselves has a direct relationship with our physical health.

What science now calls psycho-neuro-immunology, the study of how our thoughts affect our immune system, is really science beginning to catch up with what spiritual and metaphysical traditions have known for a long time.

When we live in low self-worth, constantly criticising and judging ourselves in our thoughts and words, the body reflects that as ill health. When we cultivate kindness, compassion, and a more loving inner dialogue, the body responds with greater balance and wellbeing.

This is a huge topic but if you want to dive in, I’d start with Louise Hay’s ‘You Can Heal Your Life’ and then dive into Bruce Lipton’s ‘Biology of Belief’ as your starting points.

6. “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” - Oscar Wilde / “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” - Carl Jung

I couldn’t choose between these two quotes, so I included both as they both speak to the same beautiful truth and deserved their moment in the spotlight.

Here’s the thing, there has only ever been one of you and there only ever will be one of you. You are a completely unique expression, and so you’re not here to try and blend and morph into someone else. There is only you, and you are perfect as you are.

In today’s world of social media, we’re constantly exposed to other people’s lives, and through this constant exposure it’s easy to feel uncertain and conflicted about who we are. We see society rewarding certain appearances, achievements, or ways of being, and it can pull us into comparison.

And if we’re not grounded in our own self-worth, comparison can easily take hold, draining our confidence and clouding our sense of self.

As Oscar Wilde and Carl Jung remind us, our role is to fully embody our own unique selves. The key is to stay centered in who we are, recognise our own value, and tune out the noise around us.

Life can be challenging, yes, but it’s also a profound privilege to be here, to experience being you. You are a perfect expression of the Divine, and that is something to always hold close to your heart.

7. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” - Aristotle

I truly believe Aristotle was pointing to something essential here. We are here to know ourselves, and through that knowing, we naturally step into wisdom.

So often, we move through life unaware of the deeper currents shaping our reality - the beliefs we hold, the patterns we repeat, and the inner dynamics quietly influencing our choices and experiences.

We are incredibly complex beings, made up of those layers of programming, conditioning and belief systems that come from other lifetimes, as well as all the imprints we take from our ancestral and genetic lineage. Part of being here, in this lifetime, is to bring these layers into consciousness - to truly get to know ourselves beneath the surface.

The more we know ourselves, and understand all the layers within us, the more we can step back into command of our lives. This isn’t about control, but about awareness, choice, and responsibility, and it’s here that true empowerment begins to emerge.

When we become conscious of the deeper patterning within us, our wisdom rises to the surface, and we begin to live as the more aware, intentional version of ourselves we came here to be.

A note on confidence to finish

Ultimately, confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth are all deeply connected, but it’s our self-worth that forms the unshakable foundation.

By learning to know and love ourselves, embracing our uniqueness, and stepping out of comparison and judgment, we allow our confidence to naturally rise from within.

Life becomes less about proving ourselves and more about expressing who we truly are. When we take the time to understand ourselves - our patterns, our layers, and our inherent value - we move into a place of wisdom, empowerment, and a deep, lasting sense of inner freedom.

And isn’t that a beautiful way to live.

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