Will Your Confidence Be Affected by External Factors?

　　Confidence is extremely important in almost every aspect of our life． It is said that confidence is often the single ingredient that distinguishes a successful person from someone less successful． Yet many people only govern their behaviors based on what other people think， stay in their own comfort zones fearing failure and so avoiding taking risks， and oftentimes work hard to cover up mistakes and pray that they can fix the problem before anyone wiser． For those low－confidence people， they bear in their mind that some people are more competent， more beautiful， much wealthier than them， and hence they are reduced to frustrations．

　　However， confidence should not be affected by those differences in terms of appearance， wealth， and family connections． Firstly， people can not improve their financial situations and change their appearances overnight， they are likely to change their mindset to become confident． For those who believe that confidence is based on wealth， appearance， and other external factors， their confidence is measured by external factors． In line with this belief， we can assume that only the wealthy， the beautiful， the handsome and the famous are confident． I think this is not the case． In our daily lives， there are people who earn meager salaries but still are confident of their futures who have counted days due to terminal cancers but are still confident of fulfilling their childhood dreams． If those people base their confidence in current situations， they are doomed to live gloomy and sad lives， for the perception of oneself has an enormous impact on what they will do in their daily life． Therefore， confidence is built from within instead of external factors．

　　Secondly， despite that people always are in lack of something， they are likely to learn and build confidence step by step． No matter how average they are， they have achieved something in their lives to date and have strengths that they are not aware of． Tragically， human beings are always in pursuit of what they want， but neglect what they have possessed． This also explains why they base their confidence on external factors． Because those external factors only exist in their mind in the near future， they are not real and solid． When people determine to set the journey to build confidence and carry things through by basing their confidence on what they have achieved and their strengths， no one can take it away， for they are real and solid． Gradually， confidence is build on and success is readily available， which will in return make people more confident．

　　In sum， confidence is built from within instead of from external factors． People can learn to be confident by appreciating what they have achieved and their unique strengths． In this sense， confidence should not be affected by external factors such as fame， wealth， power， and etc．