Action Builds Confidence

I recently got some feedback on my writing. It took the wind out of my sail, and I wondered how to bounce back. Feedback is hard, and when it is unexpected, it can make even the most confident of us question what we are doing. I had to ask myself the following questions:

• Is the feedback true?
• Do I trust the source?
• Did it need to be said?

It wasn’t the feedback I wanted to hear. I know I bring people joy through my stories. But it was true, I trust the person who gave it, and I needed to hear it because ultimately I know I can do better. The feedback was uncomfortable, but necessary. The feedback forced me to reexamine the work and return to it more intentionally. What surprised me was that the feedback did not stop the momentum. It reminded me that action builds confidence.  

Realization, Doubt is Natural

Over the past several weeks, I have been building a framework around Reset, Stabilize, Focus, and now Action. Ironically, this week’s feedback forced me to live the final phase in real time. For a day or so, I questioned my writing entirely. I have a philosophy in my work as an architect: after a hard-fought loss in a pursuit, I give myself one day to feel bad, then go back to it. Another piece will come, and with it another chance to improve.

Return to the Foundation

I have always needed an outlet to express my creativity. Right now, writing is my most creative outlet; it doesn’t require much material, other people, or money. It can be accomplished almost anywhere.

Doubt flooded in; there was room for improvement. But the foundation for why I write remained intact. I returned to my framework and, one paragraph at a time, worked on making improvements. The framework gives me something steady to return to. Much like I explored previously in how focus is built through repeated practice. I just needed to open a Word document. I did, and the work continued.

Action Builds Confidence

Marathon training taught me something important: confidence rarely arrives before action. It comes after repeated proof. One mile becomes three. Three becomes six. Eventually, your body recognizes what the mind doubts. In training, there isn’t a 26.2-mile practice. By then, the marathon is simply the continuation of the training. The same is true for writing. What surprised me most was that the doubt faded faster once I returned to the work itself.  

Identity Follows Repetition

Years ago, I used to write down the roles I hoped to grow into. One of them was a writer. At the time, it felt aspirational. Now, after hundreds of pages, posts, edits, and rewrites, I realized something important: the identity was not built on confidence at first, but on repeated action. “Now I write down  ‘best-selling author.’” There is still a lot to learn. The path may not be linear, but every action reinforces identity.

Closing

Setbacks happen; sometimes doubt comes with them, but it does not have to stop the work. The doubt has not disappeared entirely. But returning to the work reminded me that confidence is rarely something we wait for first. More often, action builds confidence long before confidence fully arrives.